Warrior's Angel 2: By the Light of the Stars
by Kiriona
Summary: Well, it's been seven long years, and I've finally got my chance to see the Prince again. Only problem is that he's now on the run from Dahaka, and I have once again managed to place myself right in the middle of it all. Well, here we go again.
1. PRINCY!

_Warrior's Angel 2: By the Light of the Stars_

_Written by Kiriona_

Chapter 1

"…How do I always get myself into this crap…?" I grumbled grumpily. "I just wanna go home already… Why do I have to be such a nice person?"

It had been seven years now. You remember me, right? Naomi Fox, from the last story? Yknow, the bumbling Angel whom assisted the Prince of Persia and the Princess of India through the palace of Azad? Well, I'm back, and I'm grown up.

Just like I'd said, I'd gone to the Heavens with my pal, Gabby, and went to the Academy for seven years. I was only a few days from graduation, and a couple weeks from getting my job description. I should've waited; I _knew _I should've waited til morning to run this little errand. Why, oh why do I have to be so nice...? Just this morning after my last class with one of my favorite professors, she pulled me aside and asked me to do her a favor. It seemed simple enough... Just follow her given directions to a certain old man's house and pick up something from him. Except...

I anxiously fiddled with the Angel charm that hung around my neck under my cloak. The soft white glow that said it held my wings inside calmed me a little, but it didn't help the fact that I was alone in a dark, narrow ally-way inside of an ancient city. At least, from where I originated it's ancient. The only light available was that of the moon, stars and the occasional lit torch. I was completely alone, with the exception of a cloaked stranger about fifty feet ahead of me. There was just something about him...

I pulled out the slip of paper that had the directions to my destination on it and gave it another quick glance. Another few turns... a little more walking...

Then I think I realized why the hooded stranger ahead was making me a little nervous. He was taking the same route I was. Every twist and turn written on my list he took, keeping a constant pace with me trailing quietly behind him. I suddenly found myself hoping he would take a different turn for a change... at least then it wouldn't feel so much like being followed. But he never did. Left turn on this street, another turn into another ally... Out the side gates into the outskirts... The more I thought about it, the more jittery it made me. Who was that guy, anyway?

When I passed through the open side gates of the city, I looked around again, expecting to find my mysterious travel companion already up the road, keeping his steady pace. But he was no where to be found. slightly surprised, my steps faltered and I started to breathe a sigh of relief that he was gone. I was starting to feel like a stalker! It was that moment when something heavy landed behind me and two powerful arms snatched me from behind, one holding a small blade to my neck. Oh dear... I knew I should've stayed home... Now I was going to die. great. Just great.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" a harsh, masculine voice demanded.

"I-I'm not following anybody!"

"Do not lie to me." His grip on me tightened threateningly. Oh crap. Oh crap...

"I'm not! I promise! I'm just going to the same place as you!" I shivered lightly when the razor sharp edge of the dagger pressed against my throat. Stars, he's going to kill me... I'm going to die... Come on, Naomi, think of something! "…Hair!" CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! NOT THAT, STUPID! (A/N: XD I LOVE YOU, SANNE-CHAN!) though, I guess the sheer power of randomness overtook him and made my attacker loosen his grip on me in confusion. I took the opportunity to wrench myself out and shoved him away as hard as my weak, girly arms could. I started to run away, but because my pitiful shove only pushed him about two feet, he snatched hold of my cloack and yanked me back. I stumbled and lost my footing and landed flat on my back, which temporarily knocked the wind out of me.

"Now tell me why you're following-" he began to shout again, but came to a sudden stop. I didn't notice him approaching me while I recuperated from my fall, but I'll never forget what I heard next. "...It can't be... Naomi?"

When I looked up in surprise that he would know my name, we both stopped and our eyes locked. His jaw nearly fell open, and he just stared like he couldn't believe it.

"…Naomi! It is you!" He rushed toward me, kneeling down to help me recover.

"...What?" I said dumbly, not really sure what was going on. He took my hand and pulled me up.

"Naomi, it's me," he said simply, pulling his hood down so I could see his face. I stood there, staring blankly for a moment, wondering what I was supposed to be seeing. "...you remember me, don't you?" he added, now seemingly uncertain. I scanned his face again and met his eyes, trying to find something familiar to clue me in.

"Uhhh..."

"Oh for the love of... Seven years ago? In Azad? We saved the world together?" When he said that, recognition surged through me like an electrical current. O.M.G. No way.

"No... Prince? The Prince of Persia?"

"Yes!" A wave of relief passed over his dark eyes, and that was all I needed. It was him. It was really him. But... he looked so different...

"Holy _canoli!_" I cried. Unable to contain myself, I tossed my arms around him. "I missed you so much! I can't believe it's been seven years… You... look so different now." I let go and looked at him again inquisitively. He avoided my eyes, but even the shadows of the night didn't prevent me from seeing them. He was, well, a mess. It was no wonder I hadn't recognized him. The Prince I once knew had been proud and lively and always had a smart ass remark on hand, thanks to his sharp wit and royal upbringing. But this Prince... His face was unkept and hollow, and the dark rings beneath his eyes did little to hide the lurking whirlwind of emotion just under the surface. This wasn't the Prince. This was a man... a man who had lost everything because of one simple mistake.

"A lot had happened in seven years, Naomi," he said simply. Well, I could've told anyone that. Thanks for the wonderful insight, Captain Obvious! But don't get me wrong. I know what was going on. He was being chased by Dahaka, and because he's had to live a big chunk of his life on the run, he wasn't the same person. "I apologize for attacking you. I thought you might've been another assassin."

"Assassin?"

"...It's a long story." He took one look at me and concluded, "…You've grown." I nearly fell over.

"No kidding, Captain Obvious! I though I was an infant again!" I retorted sarcastically. "But yeah, a lot had happened in seven years."

"So then, why are you here?" he questioned. I stepped toward him.

"Nothing, just running an errand." I gently pulled on one of my glow-in-the-dark star earrings. We were quiet for a short while, just looking at each other, letting the reality of it all set in. But eventually, he placed one heavy hand on my shoulder and smiled faintly.

"It's good to see you again, Naomi," he said simply, then turned and started towards the entrance of the tent.

"Hey! Where ya going?" I called, fluttering after him.

"There are some questions I need answered."

"Well, it looks like we're both going the same way! Mind if I come with you?" He didn't answer me this time, but I followed him anyway. When we arrived at our destination, the Old Man my professor had told me about had already come to greet us.

"My, I thought I heard commotion out here," he observed, "My Prince. What can an old man do for you?"

"If I may come in, I need information," the Prince answered matter-of-factly. I had to stifle a laugh. I still thought of him as that stupid, prideful, naïve young man whom I used to play around with all the time and get into tickle fights with. Seeing him all serious and mature was just… funny.

"Hey, what about me?" I whined, "I'm here too!" The Prince rolled his eyes.

"And my companion as well," he added grudgingly.

"See? Was that so hard to say?" I teased in baby talk. He rolled his eyes again.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you, Naomi?"

"Nope!" I grinned. This served only to amuse the Old Man, and he beckoned us inside.

"Ah, and you are, young lady?" he asked me as I followed the Prince inside. I stood at attention.

"Naomi Fox, sir!"

"And you're an Angel, I see. Then you must be the one Sierra sent down?"

"You know my Professor?"

"Indeed." He left us to search his shelves and returned with a small package. "Here you are. Deliver it safely."

"I will." I could feel the Princes questioning gaze before I even looked.

"What is that?" he inquired, looking down at the little box. I shrugged. "Not sure. But I was told not to open it, whatever it is."

"Give Sierra my best regards," the Old Man added. I nodded, and looked back at the Prince.

"You're turn," I told him, and then seated myself on the floor.

I basically ignored the first part of the conversation and seated myself on the floor, my legs crossed. I picked at my nails while the Prince explained to the Old Man what kind of hell the past seven years have been for him. I swear I could hear the utter terror in his voice as he talked on. Maybe it was just me, but I could almost hear his heart increasing slightly. See? I leave him alone for a little while… and he just keeps getting in all kinds of trouble. Finally, he asked what he should do about it. Then, came part of the conversation I remembered from the game.

"The Island of Time," the Old Man began, "the place where the Sands were created. The place from which the Maharaja stole the hourglass." At this, I perked up and looked between the two of them.

"And what if I could reach this Island?" the Prince asked, looking away as he leaned against a support beam. The Old Man stood at a shelf, feeling around for a container.

"They say the Maharaja found portals there, where one could pass backward through time." He found the container, grabbed it and started back over.

"Back through time…" the Prince repeated, "to the birthplace of the Sands…" He turned around and approached where the Old Man had seated himself. "Something terrible happened when our army traveled to the Maharajas palace." I scoffed.

"Yeah, I'll say. Yknow, after that little incident, I found sand in places where there should not be no sand." I shook my head, "It took me weeks to get it all out of my wings!"

"You found the Sands of Time," the Old Man concluded. The Prince knelt down and dropped his gaze.

"Worse," he whispered, "I opened them."

"I tried to tell you not to, silly boy…" I mumbled, lowering my eyes to my fingernails. "Farah and I both tried to stop you…"

"Whosoever shall open the Sands must die," the Old Man stated. At this, I raised one eyebrow at the Prince, but he didn't notice.

"I was forced to kill those I fought beside… Those I had loved," he said, almost sounding miserable. At this, I put my hand on his shoulder and opened my mouth to say something, but he beat me. "I know, Naomi. I know." I wilted slightly and put on a small pout.

"Meanie…"

"But now, an unstoppable beast chases you," the Old Man continued.

"For the first time in my life…" the Prince took a slow, deep breath, then looked up, almost pleadingly, "I am afraid." I suddenly felt bad. I dunno why, but I kept thinking that there was something I could've done…something I could've done to help him. But then, the Old Man said something that _completely _changed my mood.

"And you will die." I fell over. Then I looked back at him.

"Great!" I exclaimed sarcastically, "Thanks for the pep talk!" Luckily, the Prince also refused to take that as the final answer. He shook his head.

"I used the sands themselves to reverse time, making it as though the hourglass was never opened," he explained, getting up and walking around to the other side of the Old Man.

"Well, I guess that strategy is out the window now," I sighed.

"The beast, the Dahaka, is the Guardian of the Timeline," the Old Man explained, "You were supposed to die, so it will catch you and see to it that you meet your fate." The Prince, obviously in deep denial at this, and whom had also now gone almost full circle around the Old Man, started forward, looking somewhat confident in what he was about to do. But the Old man raised his arm and stopped him. The Prince just looked at him for a moment, then away.

"It is better to try than to wait here for death!" he declared. The Old Man lowered his arm, allowing the Prince to walk forward again.

"Madness!" the Old Man argued, "Even if you manage to reach the Island, you will still have to face the Empress of Time."

"OoooOOOOooooo…" I moaned for dramatic effect, waving my arms out in front of me, trying and lighten to mood a little, and to just be annoying. The Prince shook his head once.

"I will go back in time and prevent the sands from ever being made!" he decalred, "If there are no Sands, the Dahaka will have no quarrel with me." The Old Man, probably too old and too tired to argue with a young, stubborn, selfish git, just sighed.

"Go then, my Prince," he gave in, "But no this. You're journey will not end well. You cannot change your fate." He looked off to the side and at the ground. "No man can."

With that, the Prince left, now clearly intent on going to the island. As he left, I also jumped up to go with him, but the Old Man stopped me.

"Wait, Miss Fox," he called softly just as I reached the entrance. I stopped in mid step and looked back.

"What?"

"Come closer." I hesitated, wondering how far ahead of me the Prince was by now, but turned around and knelt in front of him. "I can see that you have very close connections with the Prince. The two of you seem fond of one another."

"We were together the whole time he was trying to put the Sands back. We got pretty close… but that was seven years ago. We haven't seen each other since." He nodded tiredly.

"The Prince has spent these past years on the run. He is fleeing for his very life, and it has changed him. He is a very desperate man, searching desperately for salvation. You may do well to stay at his side." I blinked confusedly.

"What? Why?"

"You two…may need each other more than either of you realize. Go with him." I blinked again.

"…I don't think I understand." He only smiled slightly.

"Go with him," he repeated.

* * *

Kiri: w00t! At last, the next part in the series! Or... trilogy... WHATEVER! I'll have all you guys know that this first chappy too me flipping_forever_to finish. I kep getting a slew of new ideas and I actually deleted it and rewrote it several times before finally settling on this! Man, how irritating... Well, anyways, sorry, guys, but no FAQ this time around... I'll get to it next chapter. I'm not doing it now because today my dad ripped the tendon in his elbow completely off on the bone and in and the muscle are all curled up in the top part of his arm... yeah, really gross. He's in a lot of pain, and I'm still weary from the big shock it caused earlier. So... yeah. Make sure you all leave a nice reveiw and I'll get the next chappy up as soon as I can!


	2. We Made It

Chapter 2

Before I go on about my adventures with my long lost buddy on the Island of Time, I should give a run down of what happened over the course of those couple weeks between my journey with the Prince and my chat with the Old Man. You know, so nothing is overlooked or missed.

All I can say about the firtst half is that it was total hell. I couldn't keep the Prince out of my thoughts, and I was so glad when I finally graduated and was officially free of my obligations to the Academy that I practically dashed back to my dorm, grabbed what I could and took off without so much as a note. I was just so anxious to see him again…

Anyways, during that time, the Prince had found himself a ship and a crew and had already set sail for the Island when I caught up to him. It was a bit weird, for both the crew, and me since I was so unused to people gawking at me. But I can't really blame them… I mean, how often did they see a chick with wings just swoop down from nowhere and hug tackle their captain?

Well, as you can imagine, my appearance made most of them just buzz with gossip. A lot of them believed that my showing up was a sign of good luck and that the rest of the trip would be cake with me on board. I just shrugged my shoulders at this. Personally, I thought they were wasting their energy praising me, but hell, if it put smiles on their faces, who was I to rain on their parade?

I spent most of the time trying, _trying_ to not be completely useless. During the day, I was either helping the crew keep the ship clean, helping the Prince figure out the best route to our destination, or sleeping if there was nothing I could do. At night, I'd fly around the immediate area and keep a lookout for any danger. I know sometimes the Prince would tease me about how weak and squirrelly I used to be when we first met.

The night Shahdee's ship attacks ours, I was out scouting ahead for signs of land. The only problem was that there was a nasty storm going on, so I couldn't stay out for very long, especially since the rainwater was weighing my wings down.

With an exaggerated 'Oof!' I landed on the deck of the ship and shook my wings a little, trying to dry them somewhat. The prince was standing just a little ways away, looking around at the surrounding ocean. I started to make my way too him, when he suddenly turned.

"This storm shows us no mercy!" he shouted to his crew, "We shall respond in kind! Reef the mainsail!" He grabbed the shoulder of a passing crew member and said something to him I couldn't make out over the storm, them waved him away. I hurried over and gripped his shoulder lightly. He turned.

"I can't see anything in this rain, but I think we're getting closer," I said, trying to sound optimistic. He stared at me for a long moment before a grin spread across his face and he chuckled. "…What?"

"You're all wet," he said simply. My jaw hung open and my first thought was to say "Nah, you THINK?!" But then I happened to notice the blue streaks in front of my eyes… and my wings… My hair was completely matted to my head and my wings, sopping wet, looked like an old carpet that had been thoroughly hosed down during a rainstorm. All and all, I looked like a drowned rat.

"…You know, Prince… Sometimes…" I just shook my head, not sure how to finish that sentence. He laughed again. "Just because YOU have a HOOD…!" I stopped when I spotted something out in the distance. "Hey, what's that?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder. He must've seen it too, because he seemed to study it carefully. I stepped forward, wringing out my hair. I figured he might turn back and ask me to go check it out, so I gave my wings a quick test run.

"Naomi, could you—" he turned to look at me, but I cut him off.

"I'm one step ahead of ya, Princy," I informed him and jumped into flight. It was really difficult to stay in he air, since I was soaking wet, and the wind was working against me. Maybe that was why I was nearly clobbered when those flaming hook thingies came flying out of nowhere, landing on the deck of the ship and hooking onto the side. I only stopped to look for a second, if only to make sure the Prince was all right. He was already on top of things, throwing his cloak off and ordering his men to get ready for combat.

Knowing and dreading what was about to happen, I hovered there for a moment, watching as the enemy ship hauled ours closer. I kept wondering the same thing. If Shahdee's ship was attacking, then the island was surely close by. Would it be better to stay and help, or to track down the Island and wait for the Prince?

That decision was quickly made as another flaming arrow was hurled in my direction. With a loud yelp, I leapt to the side and took off for the island as fast as I could. I already knew how this battle played out, even without my help, so I was gonna play it safe and wait for the Prince on the beach.

There's no telling how many times I was nearly knocked out of the sky, though. The wind was all but working against me and the extra weight of the rain was no help at all. Not to mention I could hardly see a damn thing. And wouldn't you know it was my wonderful luck that I would have to smash into something at full speed. I don't know what it was, but I was hard enough to knock me out.

The storm had passed by the time I woke up. My vision was still a bit blurry as I stood up, and I saw double for a moment, but thankfully, my head straightened itself out and I was left with a splitting headache. I'd made it to the Island all right… but what about Princy?

"Ah, crap!" I said to myself, realizing that I could've been all the way on the other side of the Island for all I knew. This headache was just gonna have to go ignored, because the only reason I was here in the first place was to help the Prince. Like hell I was gonna leave him by his lonesome.

I quickly shook the water from my wings that hadn't already evaporated and took to the air. I was a bit wobbly at first, so I took my time until I was confident enough to speed up. I flew low over the beaches, looking for him, finding nothing for a long time.

I finally spotted him near the ruins of what used to be a ship. Probably our ship. And as if that wasn't bad enough, there were _birds._ _BIRDS!_ I hate birds! Especially birds that were composed to _sand!_ Anyway, I landed close by, waved the birds away, and dropped to my knees next to my buddy's still unconscious form. Still trying hard to ignore my aching head, I carefully lifted his head up onto my knees and brushed his hair away from his face.

I took to opportunity to close my eyes and focus on getting rid of the headache for a moment. I hated getting headaches like this, mainly because they were stubborn and would never go away. Luckily, they were few and far in between, but still. This one was bringing back unpleasant memories of the short time the Prince and I were stuck in the Prison level seven years ago.

"Prince?" I spoke up quietly as he started showed signs of consciousness. I put my hand on his cheek. "Princy…" Not much of a response from him. "Open your eyes, O Prince of Persia!" I commanded cryptically. Still nothing. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty! How long are you planning on staying in bed today?!" I leaned forward and pressing my forehead against his nose and my nose against his forehead so I was looking right at his eyes. Or in this case, eyelids. "Come on, ya lazy bum! Wake up!" He stirred again, turning his head slightly. "Wake up, sweet prince, or no cookies for you!" He let out a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes and jumped slightly with he saw me right in his face.

"Naomi…?"

"Morning, Sunshine." I sat up, allowing him to look around a little before sitting up himself. "Look," I said, gesturing to the island. He looked back at me. "We made it."

* * *

Kiri: CRAAAAP I'M SOOO SORRY, YOU GUYS!!!

Naomi: I'll bet you are... lazy writer.

Kiri: I've ben really busy lately, since forthe past couple weeks, I've had not only summer school, but also Drivers ed, which I'm glad to say I pulled out of since the teacher was an old geezer with heart problems...That guy couldn't keep a schedule if it bit him in the ass! Anyways, Sorry, also, for the exceptionally short chappy. See, it's the one year anniversary of when I first came up with the whole idea, so I felt obligated to post what I had. Aside from all that, I'll do a quickie FAQ today.

Q: Has Naomi even matured at ALL in the seven years she'd been gone?

A: Mmm... maybeh. You'll just have to wait and see.

Q: Well... they're on the island together... all alone... they've been through SoT together... it's so obvious that they're gonna elope or something!

A: Now, now, don't make conclusions yet. There's still lots more stuff for them to go through. Not to mention, They're gonna meet Kaileena, and much later, Farah. So what's happening now tells you NOTHING! Mwuhaha!

Q: So... is Dark Prince gonna come?

A:...you have to ASK?

Q: Uh... k... what about a Dark Naomi?

A: Well... it's a cool idea, but considering how ridiculously cliche that idea is becoming, and how much I hate cliches...

Naomi: Besides, I'm a freakin ANGEL, peoples! Angels have no darksides! If they do, then it's VERY minimal!

Kiri: Ok, I think that's enough for today. Remember, read and reveiw and all that good stuff and make me a happeh authoress! .


	3. The Divine Laws

Chapter 3

"Come… this way…"

Ever since the Prince and I had started our trek up to see the Empress, I'd started noticing this tiny little voice coming from seemingly nowhere. No, it wasn't one of those voices you hear in the back of your head that just won't shut up. No, this one was one of those voices that you hear all around you, but you can't seem to pinpoint.

I think I first noticed it when the Prince had sworn revenge on Shahdee for destroying his ship and killing his crew. It had been quiet then, and I'd heard it. A small, barely audible little voice, whispering to me, "Come this way… Come…" Of course, when I asked Princy if he'd heard it too, he just looked at me like I was crazy, so I decided not to push the issue and ignore it.

I just found it really funny that I would be hearing something beckoning me onto the island, rather than telling me to get lost. It reminds me of those old ruins underneath Azad when I was there, how I'd gotten this awful feeling that something really didn't want me there. I would've thought that this island would be listed under the restricted zones for us Angels… strange.

Oh, I completely forgot to explain those restricted zones, didn't I? Well, even the Angel society has it's own set of laws, just like humans do. We've got pretty much the same sort of thing, yknow, don't kill people, don't fly over a military runway, don't visit the hair salon on Saturday—oh no, that's was what that seer told me... Ok, forget that last one. But still, we have laws like that that you get fined for, or you get a few days jail time, or whatever the case may be.

However, there are three laws in particular that they drill into you from the moment you reach the city gates. Their called the Three Divine Laws and were supposedly set by the gods and could not, under any circumstances, be broken. I think they're pretty simple, really, even if they are annoying in more ways than one.

1) Angels must conceal information from Renegade and non-angels that may in any way compromise the purity of the Angelic bloodline, or the safety of the Heavens and it's peoples.

2) All Angels must remain clear or any and all restricted zones unless given personal, direct orders by the Council of Angels.

3) No Angel may, under any circumstances, enter any sort of relationship with a renegade or non-angel that may in any way compromise the purity of the bloodline.

You can see what I'm talking about when I say simple but annoying. Like I said, they drill these laws into you from the moment you walk into the city. They may as well just tattoo it on the backs of our heads, for cryin' out loud!

I don't really know what the penalty is for breaking one of these laws, since no one really has since I've been around, (or at least that haven't been caught). The Council has a way of knowing what every living angel is doing, every minute of every day, so the only way to escape punishment for those crimes is to pack up and hightail it away. Most of them end up becoming Dark Angels, or Renegades, as we call them.

But the original point was that I'm surprised that this Island isn't restricted like the ruins are. The whole reason I had felt that compelling feeling to get away was because I had come dangerously close to a forbidden zone. There are certain special… barriers that they put around a forbidden zone in order to keep Angels whom might accidentally wander into one away, like my case. It sends out vibes that only we can feel that give us the feeling of impending doom so we'll leave. Clever, yes.

"…So then, I set _that_ building on fire, and then these guys jumped outta nowhere and were like 'now you gotta fight us or die!' So then I was like 'Fine then!' and I was like WHAM! BLAMO! And I kicked their ass's so royally and I sat them on the throne once I was done…" I reminisced. As we made our way up to the fortress, Prince and I had started talking and I'd gone off on a tangent about one class in particular at the Academy on simulation day. Yeah, simulations were lots of fun. "And then I looked at my partner and was like, 'look, I just don't think an inter-species relationship would work out…'"

"Well, it sounds like you had an… interesting time," the Prince answered as he pulled himself up into solid ground. But I could tell from the look on his face that he was just saying that to satisfy me so I'd shut up. Honestly, I couldn't blame the guy. I mean, he'd just spent his seven years running for his life, living like a rat, and I'd been off having all kinds of fun. Maybe I should shut up.

"It was a really fun day. But the funny thing was, all I could think about the whole time was how thankful I was for picking up some fighting techniques when we were in Azad." I retorted, also landing on the ground and folded my wings back. We started our way down the short set of steps towards a hole in the wall, which the Prince rolled under and I crawled under. There were two lowlife sand dudes there, which the Prince made fast work of with his… um… stick… He really needs to find a weapon that's worth a crap. I pursed my lips slightly as he knelt down to grab and inspect one of the dropped weapons. "Um, Prince…" I began, ready to apologize, "Was I talking too much back there?" He didn't move, or look at me.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well… because… Sometimes I go off on a tangent about something stupid, and I know that you probably don't need to be listening to me babble while you're running for your life..." At this, he stood up and looked over his shoulder at me. For a split second I thought he was gonna throw something at me, but thankfully he did something much less hurtful and not-so-full-of-broken-bones.

"I'm grateful for your company, honestly."

"Well, if I do start chewing your ears off, just say something."

"Naomi, you're always going to be that boisterous girl I knew back in Azad," he teased. Oh really? Well, two can play at that game, Princy!

"And _you're_ always gonna be that pompous, pig-headed-but-still-very-charming-in-the-craziest-ways Persian Prince that _I_ knew back in Azad!" I shot back, sticking my finger in the middle of his chest. His smile faded and he raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" he asked, sort of in a challenging tone. I stepped up to him and pushed my chest out, purposely bumping it into his.

"Yeah. Got a problem with it, buster?" I demanded playfully. He just continued to look down at me. Note: he was several inches taller than I was.

"What if I do?" I grinned.

"Well then, you're gonna have to tell me your name if you want me to change my opinion." The playful look immediately vanished from his eyes and he turned away, smacking his forehead.

"Naomi!" he cried, exasperated, "did we not drop that subject seven years ago?!"

"No! I wanna know!"

"No!"

"Whyyyyyyy?!" I whined pathetically, "come ON, tell me!"

"No!" He turned on his heel and walked away, climbing up the next ledge. I followed.

"Tell me!"

"No!" I decided to scale the ledge the old fashioned way this time around and tried to climb up, but I had some trouble. Seeing my dilemma, the Prince grabbed my wrists and hauled me up. Unfortunately, I lost my footing and stumbled, knocking both of us off balance, and it all ended in the two of us on the ground in a pile. Déjà vu.

I blushed slightly when I realized how close our faces were, and quickly made to jump away and start spitting out apologies, but before I could, another thought came to mind. Instead of jumping away, I snatched his wrists and pinned them on the ground before he could react.

"Now I've got you!" I exclaimed triumphantly. "Now tell me what your name is!"

"For the last time, Naomi! I'm not telling you!" he barked.

"You will if you know what's good for you, Sand boy! Now out with it!"

"No!"

"Tell me or else!" I threatened.

"Or else what?" he dared.

"Or else I'll be forced to take drastic measures!"

"And just what do you think you're going to do?"

"Don't make me tickle you into submission, Princy! I did it once and I'll do it again!"

"Yeah, once _seven years ago!"_

"Just because you've grown into this fierce warrior dude with a shiny sword doesn't mean that you've lost your tickle spots!"

"Just get off of me already! We're wasting precious time!"

"Not until you tell me what your name is!"

"NAOMI!"

"Tell me already!"

"No!"

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"TELL ME!"

"NO!"

"TELL ME, TELL ME, TELL ME!"

"NO, NO, NO!"

"………Tell me."

"NO!" I put on a pout and sat up, letting his wrists go.

"Why won't you tell me?" I squeaked, hoping to play on his sympathies.

"I already told you. I don't like it, so I go by 'Prince' if I can help it. Now will you please get off of me? We're wasting time here!"

"Are you going to tell me?"

"No!" I folded my arms stubbornly.

"Then I'm parking my big butt right here and not moving until you do!" With that, I put my nose in the air and waited. I could feel the Prince glaring at me, and I also knew that he wasn't about to let some chick with wings get in his way of changing his fate. I was right about both. He was much stronger than me, so he didn't have much of a problem wrestling me off, then throwing me over his shoulder. "NO FAIR!" I shouted defiantly. "I'm just a helpless little girl and you're a big tough warrior! That's not fair!"

"First, I sincerely doubt that you are 'helpless.' Second, my mission is far too important for this fooling around. You can either help me complete what I've come here to do or stay out of my way."

I was almost stunned. I never would've expected him to talk to _me _that way… I was just about to open my mouth and retort, but I stopped and thought about it for a moment. I couldn't really blame him for saying that. The man was scared for his life… who was I to get in his way and slow him down?

I groaned in defeat, "Fine! Crazy time is over! Just put me down, will you? My wings are as good as useless with you climbing all over me!" He tensely set me on my feet again, obviously still annoyed that my antics has slowed him down. Well, I wasn't about to stick around and endue a tense, awkward silence while waiting for my brain to come up with something to say. So I stretched my wings out and made ready to fly away. "Alright, meaniepants, I'll go scout the area ahead and see what wonderful perils are waiting for us. I'll meet you later." Without waiting for a reply, I took to the air and zoomed off.

* * *

Kiri: woo! Another chappy in the bag!

Naomi: and it only took two years!

Kiri: ...It didn't take THAT long!

Naomi: Wanna bet?

Kiri: shush up! Anyways, yes, a nice new chappy for all my wonderful fans! Eee, I just love having fans...

Naomi: you would...

Kiri: Well, who wants to do teh FAQ today?

Prince: I'll do it this time... I don't think I've done it in a while.

Kiri: fine. I shall eat ice cream!

Naomi: HEY! Ditcher!

Kiri: (grin)

Q: What's that little voice Naomi is hearing?

A: Not sure exactly, but I think it has something to do with the fact that someone doesn't want her on that island.

Q: Wait, someone doesn't want her on the island?

A: If memory serves. Because since she's traveling with me, just her presence there triggers some events that lead to disaster... Though, I'm not sure who's trying to get her off the island.

Naomi: I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right with my Princy! He needs my help, dammit!

Mike: Well, aren't you the noble one...

Naomi: GAH! You stay away from me!

Q: Why isn't the Island of Time restricted like those ruins?

A: Probably because the Island isn't as important the the Angel society as whatever is in those ruins.

Q: What IS in the ruins?

A: I don't know, Kiri won't say. But I know it'll be something important.

Q: Why the hell don't you just torture Kiri until she DOES give some answers?!

A:...

Mike: Uh... because she has total control of our lives, maybe?! I may be brave, but I'm not crazy! You'll just have to do it the hard way and read the chapters to find out!

Q: ...FINE! So, was the Prince upset when Naomi was going on about her... simulation?

A: NO!

Naomi: Oh really? (leers)

A: ...ok, maybe a little... but with good reason! I'd just speant all those years running for my life, having to train myself to be totally alert of my surroundings at all times, having to take to the streets and live as a nameless nobody. Listening to her rant on about how much fun she had was just aggravating. But, she is a friend, and she did realize her mistake, so I can't stay too mad at her.

Naomi: Awww! That's the sweetest thing you've said to me, Prince! (HUG)

A: (blushes)

Q: HA! YOU'RE BLUSHING! YOU TWO ARE GONNA GET TOGETHER! I KNOW IT!

A: ...

Kiri: IT TELLS YOU NOTHING, STILL! He may still get with Kaileena, or Farah! Besiiiides... you know Angels can't love humans... it's against the laaaaw... heheh...

Q: ...DAMN YOU.

Kiri: (grins) Yes, damn me.

Q: Fine. So why was the Prince being an ass at the end?

A: Because Naomi was getting on my nerves. Here I'm about ready to die at the hands of the Dahaka and she's jumping all over me, demanding to know my name.

Naomi: WELL I WANNA KNOW!

A: PRIORITIES, WOMAN!

Q: Yeah... what IS your name, Prince?

A: FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT TELLING!

Kiri: Ok, I think that's enough for one day. And as an end note, does anyone have ANY idea what happened to Rhea?! She's been gone for like... ever! If anyone has any idea, then tell her to get her butt back here and finish Dark Dreams! And... that's about it. So, I'll see y'all next chappy!


	4. The Letter

Chapter 4

Ok, so I was a little mad at the prince for snapping at me. That was one of the reasons I'd left him in the dust and took off to scout ahead. I needed to cool my jets a little. Of course, having to listen to that stupid little voice wasn't helping much.

"Come… this way…" Argh, lemmie alone!

Sighing, I landed softly on the ground and started walking. I hadn't seen many enemies that posed a real threat yet, so I figured it would be safe until I hit the fortress. As I said, I wasn't about to go back to the Prince and put up with who knows how long of uncomfortable silence.

I think it's obvious by now that he's not the same man I used to tease and play around with when I was sixteen. No, he was different, his mind warped and aged by fear. Damn it, how could I have been to stupid?! I'd come down here, all anxious to see him, knowing damn good and well that he'd been on the run all this time, and I expected him to be the same Prince I knew in Azad?! Stupid, Naomi! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Girl, maybe it's time you did a little growing up yourself! The Prince is desperate and he needs all the help he can get! It's time for you to show that you aren't just extra baggage here!

With a newfound confidence, I started leaping up the path, ready to kick some serious sand monster butt. Along the way, I happened to spot a nice little rock, sitting so innocently on the ground… Grinning, I quickened my pace and then greeted that little stone with a Super-Duper-Angel-Power-Naomi-Karate Kick and stopped to admire my work as it soared through the air.

At least… until it landed with a loud 'thunk' on the head of a sand monster. Who also happened to be in a much larger group of sand monsters… that all happened to be wielding big scary swords… and whom all happened to stop and look directly at me… Oh sweet angels of the Netherlands…

"Uh… hi there…" I squeaked, "Er… um… sorry…'bout that? Heheh…" Smooth, Naomi. Real smooth. This was not going to end well.

I stepped back, lightly pulling on the collar of my blue tunic, grinning nervously as they started to approach me, wielding their weapons menacingly.

"So, uh… nice weather we're having? Heheh… heh…" Oh, they were SO not buying this. Come on, Naomi, think of something already! "Yknow… with all this sand swirling around here… don't you guys ever get chafe rashes? Cause I know a really great doctor who could fix that—" ok, BAD move.

"She's the one that came here with the Prince! Get her!" one of them cried. With that, all of them charged forward, weapons at the ready. Me, I screamed like a little girl and immediately ran away, completely forgetting that I had the ability to fly.

I ran and I ran and I ran, flailing my arms around like a moron, doing everything that I shouldn't have been doing to get out of danger. It wasn't until I jumped down off a ledge and nearly ran straight off the end of a cliff that I stopped and kicked myself mentally.

"What the HELL am I DOING?!" I demanded angrily, then stretched out my wings and darted into the air before the monsters could catch me.

As I flew up, higher and higher, and farther and father from danger, I was kicking my own ass in my mind. Damn it, Naomi, _why?!_ Why must you keep acting like the biggest dumbass on the face of the planet?! Girl, you're smarter than this! You spent seven years at the Academy training both physically and mentally for this type of danger! Why, WHY?!

The berating didn't stop, even as I took quick refuge on the roof of the fortress. I kept yelling at myself, scolding myself for being so stupid when it was absolutely uncalled for. Damn it, the Prince needed my help! Not some useless fool to baby-sit on top of everything he already has to deal with! How many times did I tell myself that I would be there to assist him? That I would make myself useful and not extra baggage? Why couldn't I seem to live up to that oath? I sighed.

Maybe I should just go home and take myself out of the picture… After all, Gabby is probably worried about me… the way I took off without a word…

Just as I was starting to convince myself that that might not be such a bad idea, I heard a very faint cry off in the distance. Vaguely recognizing it, I looked up towards the clouded sky and searched it. I was even more convinced when I heard it a second time, and I smiled when I saw the sound take shape.

"Finally, something familiar," I said somewhat happily as a nice-sized hawk circled the sky around me, spiraled downward and landed on the ground nearby. And of course, there was an envelope tied to his leg. Hawks were pretty much the most commonly used method of communication between Angels in the heavens and Angels down on the ground. But who would be sending me a letter? Maybe it was Gabby, wondering where the hell I'd run off to…

The hawk picked at his feathers with his beak as I untangled the message from his leg, which he seemed grateful for. I closely examined the envelope, looking for some kind of clue as to who sent it, but I didn't find anything on it… no seal, for return address… nothing.

After glancing again at the hawk, I flipped the envelope over, wedged my finger into the top end and ripped it open. The envelope might not have been very fancy and decorative, but the message inside was a completely different story. The paper used was very thick like a certificate and as I unfolded it, my eyes were immediately drawn to the little golden seal in the top right corner. The seal with the Angel in the center, her wings wrapped around her, her hands folded in payer… I know that seal. From the age of sixteen, I knew that seal.

My heart started pounding for whatever odd reason. Probably because a little voice that I couldn't hear at the moment was telling me that the letter was tied to my near future… big time. I don't know why I was so hesitant to unfold and read it, but my hands started to shake lightly as they moved to open it. I was almost too nervous to find out what it said. Maybe the hawk had messed up, or got turned around in a bad wind and delivered this to the wrong person… maybe… just maybe…

_**To Miss Angelina Samira,**_

CRAP. Well… maybe it was good news? …Fat chance. How often did the Council of Angels send a letter of praise? I'll tell you how often: _never_. I bit my lip hard as I slowly unfolded it all the way. Maybe this was a joke? Yes, a joke. Someone somehoe got their hands on a think piece of paper, forged a seal and… forged all twelve of the councilmen's' signatures… Well, I'm doomed! Might as well get it over with and see what I did wrong and when the hearing is and how much jail time I'll be getting.

_**To Miss Angelina Samira,**_

_**We, the members of the Council of Angels, take great pleasure in informing you that you will not be taking up a normal occupation among the Angels. It is with great pride that we give you**_

I suddenly cringed when the hawk let out an ear-piercing cry, spread his wings and flapped off. I stared at him for a moment, my eyes narrowed in annoyance as he flew off. Nothing like having your eardrums shattered at the most unexpected time…

I looked around at my location. Wow, how long had I been up here? How long had I kept the Prince waiting for me? …How mad would he be when I finally got back? Oh boy, I'd better hurry and find him before he gets himself killed. Or worse. And maybe this time I'll be able to make myself useful and not bumble around like an idiot and make him wonder why in the world he had agreed to let me come.

Quickly folding the letter back up and tucking it into my tunic, I spread my wings and flapped up into the air. I just hoped he wasn't still annoyed about my antics earlier…

* * *

Kiri: Wow, this one was actually kinda hard to write... there just wasn't much happening...

Naomi: Another pointless filler chapter...

Kiri: it's not completely pointless! You got that letter, didn't you?! That's important!

Naomi: Whatever...

Kiri: Well... I guess I'll do the FAQ today, since everyone appears to be SLACKING OFF!

Naomi: They're all sleeping, you dolt! It's the middle of the night!

Kiri: So?!

Naomi: SO, some people like to actually _go to sleep_ at night!

Kiri: ...nu uh.

Naomi: Just because you're a night owl, doesn't mean the rest of the world it, too.

Kiri: oh... _shut it_!

Q: What the heck was that letter all about?

A: Heheh, you'll see.

Q: Was it good or bad?

A: What do you think?

Q: Are you even gonna answer my questions?

A: maybeh.

Q: Grrr... well, isthe Prince still gonna be an ass when she gets back to him?

A: Mmm... maybe. Maybe not. Considering that Naomi is still a child at heart, and the Prince had matured quite a bit in his recent years, I'd have to say probably yes, since he's too busy looking after his own skin to have to baby-sit Naomi as well.

Naomi: I am NOT a child!

A: Really? Then what's that rattle over there?

Naomi: ...THAT IS NOT MINE YOU DOLT!

A: Uh huh, suuuure.

Q: What the HECK is that little voice in her head?!

A: Ah, the voice isn't in her head at all. It's all around her. she just can't figure out what direction it's coming from.

Q: Well, what is it?!

A: Not telling. ;P

Q: so... when's the Dark Prince gonna come?

A: Not soon enough for my tastes, but since we've only just arrived on the Island, we're all just gonna have to be patient, aren't we?

Q: Is Naomi EVER going to be able to go off alone and stay out of trouble?

A: Ha! Unlikely!

Naomi: HEY!

Kiri: what, it's the truth! But anyways, I'm really sleepeh now, so I'm going off to bed. Sorry for the filler chappy, y'all, but remember to review!


	5. Little Lost Angel Charm

Chapter 5

"Prince!" I called down after finally locating him again. I circled once to decrease my speed as he looked up at me. He stood up from his kneeling position when my feet touched the ground and watched as I dusted myself off and folded my wings back.

"Naomi," he said in a sorta greeting tone. "Did you find anything?" I came closer to rejoin my comrade.

"I didn't find anything, but the path ahead to the fortress is pretty straight forward. But the obstacles blocking the road and all the climbing it may require… that's another story. But that's the beauty of having wings." I flashed him a smirk, but he didn't react to it. He just turned his eyes back do to his hand, which I then noticed had something shiny clutched in it. "…What did you find?"

He turned to me, his eyes still fixed on his hand and he opened his palm to show me. My eyes went wide and nearly fell out of my skull when I saw what he was holding.

"What in the…" I began, my voice quiet and breathless. I carefully picked up chain hooked into the silver Angel Charm and lifted it out of his hand. "…Where did you get this…?"

"I found it over there on the ground," the Prince answered, "I figured you would see some significance in it." Oh, hell yes I did. This was one of the charms that Angels kept their wings in when they wanted to blend in when they didn't want their wings slowing them down. They were pretty much standard issue when an Angel got their job. I still hadn't got my job assignment, so I didn't have one. But these things were a real bitch to replace if lost.

I turned it over in my hand and gave it a close examination.

"You know what? Whoever lost this… left their wings in it," I said, looking up at the Prince, whom obviously had no idea what it was.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"These neat little charms are what Angels use to put their wings away when they're not needed or wanted… I feel sorry for a poor slob that lost this," I explained. Sighing, I slipped the chain around my neck and tucked the charm into my tunic. "I'll keep this until I can get back to the Heavens. Whoever lost it will definitely be wanting it back."

"Why don't you have one?" the Prince asked.

"I don't have a job yet… But I'll be getting one soon." I looked up at him. "Well, shall we continue onward?" He just nodded once and we started walking.

I admit, my memory of the game had more than dwindled after seven years. I barely recognized anything here, and I was relying mostly on gut feelings to point us in the right direction and get through puzzles. I still had no weapon, so it was up to the Prince to do all the fighting. It didn't seem to bother him, though, so nothing was said about it. I had a big strong man to hide behind at the moment, and the Prince had a navigator. Even if that navigator had to fly up to see the land layout to figure out the best path to take, and had only bits and pieces of memories of playing the game back home, it was better than nothing.

After a while of this, we reached the fortress and after a looooong set of steps and a few sand monsters, we were in.

"Prince?" I spoke up after a while. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"…What is it that keeps you going like this?" I inquired, tilting my head at him questioningly. He paused a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Seven years on the run, living like a street rat, or close to one, knowing the Dahaka wants you dead no matter what it has to do, knowing that you're completely on your own… how do you deal with that? What in the world kept you going this long?" He paused again, this time much longer, his eyes on the ground in thought.

"I…" he began, still wording his answer, "I have a lot to live for, I suppose."

"And what would that be?"

"My kingdom, my father… and you…" he sort of mumbled the last little bit, but I still heard it. I blushed softly and turned my head to the side, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

"That's sweet of you," I commented. "What about… Farah?" I watched his face when I asked that one. He seemed to go sullen for a moment.

"Farah…" he whispered her name, "She does not remember me. Or you, for that matter. It's best to just leave her be, and let her continue her life." I smirked slyly. Or, I was so gonna tease him about that.

"You still love her, don't you? Go on, admit it!" I teased, lightly punching his shoulder.

"That was a long time ago, Naomi," he told me, "it wouldn't matter either way."

"Men…" I sighed, "so little understanding of matters of the heart…" he looked at me, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Oh, and I suppose you would know all about it?" he asked sarcastically. I grinned.

"Damn right I do. I am an Angel, therefore, I know all!" I replied cheerfully, but firmly.

"You certainly don't act like it."

"Yes well… Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" He snickered. "That's it, I am SO feeding you to the Dahaka!" His humor died a little at the mention of the Dahaka, but didn't kill it completely. I didn't blame him. After all, what fun is it being chased by a big black, ugly demon that saps all the color from the environment? To be honest, I really didn't want to meet him, though I knew I would have to eventually…

For a few minutes, it was quiet and still. It was nice for about two seconds, though. Know why?

"Get… away…get… off…the… island…" That's why. That little voice was back and this time, it wasn't saying 'come this way' nor was it a small, high-pitched whisper. No, now it was a lower, much creepier tone, and it didn't sound like it was friendly. I shivered lightly upon hearing it and glanced at the Prince for reassurance. I knew he would protect me… we were buddies, after all. So why didn't I feel any better?

Then, as if I wasn't creeped out enough, "Get…off…or…you'll…be…sorry…" That did it. I was now officially freaked out to the maximum level. Someone or something clearly did NOT want me here, and by the sound if it, it was gonna do whatever it had to to get me off.

"Are you alright?" the Prince asked suddenly, causing me to jump in surprise.

"Y-yeah, I… I'm fine," I answered, not wanting to bring up the little voice with him. I knew he would just look at me like I was nuts.

"You're trembling," he pointed out.

"I'm just cold," I answered quickly, hugging myself to stop shaking. He continued to stare at me skeptically. It was way too obvious I was lying. He opened his mouth to voice that he didn't believe me, but I cut him off before he could utter a sound. "Look, I really am just cold, ok?! Get off my case!" I didn't mean to snap at him like that. Not only did it convince him that I was hiding something, but it also established a stubborn, awkward silence between us. That only made things worse, since I could still hear the voice.

I bit my lip hard and tensed my muscles to try and stop my body from trembling, but it wasn't working very well. I was in good mind to listen to the voice, but another part of me still remembered my promise to the Prince and myself. I was gonna stay with him and help him out of this mess if it killed me. I couldn't let a little disembodied voice scare me away when I had so much on my plate.

Swallowing hard, let me arms hang back down by my sides and increased my pace to equal the Prince's and I quietly promised myself that as soon as this was over, I was getting my ass off this rock ASAP.

* * *

Kiri: Well, that only took forever.

Naomi: No freaking kidding...

Kiri: Sorry for the late chapter, guys. I had a LOT of trouble finishing it. Mainly because not much happens. But I've finally got it done, so here it is. But enough of my babbling, let's get to the FAQ. who wants to do it today?

Everyone: (raises hand)

Kiri: Oo wow, when did this get so popular?

Prince: Probably when you procrastinated for a month and left us all bored out of our minds.

Kiri: Well... it's not my fault... I just got a nasty case of writers block and couldn't figure out what to write! But anyway... lessie... AH, I KNOW! MIKE! He hasn't done it in a while.

Mike: Damn right. Now move over.

Kiri: ... Well, EXCUSE me!

Q: what's the shiny thingie?

A: you mean the charm? Sorry, can't tell yet, but remember it... it'll be important later.

Q: Why doesn't Naomi have one of those charms?

A: She doesn't have a job. She didn't get assigned to one, since she just took off after graduation without a word.

Q: So... who's charm is that?

A: oh, you'll see...

Q: So... the Prince wants to live just for Naomi? IS THAT LOVE IN THE AIR?!

A: ...First of all, don't be stupid. Princy boy and Naomi were best friends at the end of the first story, and she promised him they'd meet again. Of course he'd want to stay alive long enough to see her again. but also keep in mind that she isn't the only thing keeping him from resigning himself to his fate.

Prince: Yes, I DO have a throne to think about you know!

Q: BUT IT SO OBVIOUS THEY'RE GONNA FALL IN LOVE!!

Naomi: HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY THIS! IT'S AGAINST THE LAW AND IF I BREAK THAT LAW, THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE MY HEAD! Besides, the relationship between us is more brother and sister.

A: er, yeah, what she said. Naomi is too goodie-goodie to break the laws. and I really doubt that a romantic relationship will develope as long as the Prince is afraid for his life and Naomi is acting like a bubble head.

Naomi: HEY!

Q: so... what the hell is that little voice?!

A: oh... nothiiiin...

Q: ok... so why does it want her off the island so bad?

A: because her presence on the island is going to trigger a series of events that lead to disaster.

Q: Disaster for who, exactly?

A: (shrug) Who knows. But whoever is behind the voice is either trying to help someone else or their own self.

Kiri: OK, I think that's enough for today... and to my wonderful readers, I love you all VERY much and I just LOVE the reviews! Hopefully the next chapter will get the story a little farther than this one did, and hopefully it'll be up sooner. So keep an eye out, okies?


	6. Meeting the Empress

Chapter 6

We had to go back in time to reach the sacrificial alter, and to my surprise, we arrived there fairly quickly. And just as I remember, Kaileena and Shadhee were locked in battle and so far Kaileena was losing. Not sure if I should run in and intervene, I looked quickly at the Prince, whom was watching the battle, also trying to decided what to do.

"It is as they say," he said under his breath, but still audible, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." I was about to open my mouth and ask him just what the hell that was supposed to mean, but Kaileena beat me.

"You!" she exclaimed, catching sight of us, "help me!" The Prince finally made his decision when she was thrown over the edge. He ran up the remaining steps and stood a little ways from the battle.

"Leave her alone!" he yelled as Shadhee prepared to grind Kaileena hands with his boot. The warrior looked over at him and scowled. "You and I have unfinished business!" With that said, he rushed in, sword drawn, and drew Shadhee away from where Kaileena hung from her fingertips. Deciding I'd best make myself useful, I snuck around the fierce battle that was already raging between the two warriors and looked over the edge at Kaileena.

"Are you alright?" I asked, gripping her wrists and starting to pull her up. It took a great deal of effort, but I managed to haul her up onto solid ground. She took one look at me, or rather, at my wings and said, "You're an Angel." My eyes darted around a little and rested back on her.

"Well… yeah. I am."

"Why are you here?" she demanded. I glanced quickly at the Prince, who was sword locked with Shadhee.

"I'm here because he's here," I answered. She glared at him, then at me.

"Just who are you, exactly?"

"Uh… well, my name's Naomi Fox… but my angelic name is Angelina Samira." She just looked at me for a moment, as if trying to decide if I was telling the truth. I just stood there awkwardly, listening to the insults, curses and battle cries going on in the background.

"If you're an Angel, what are you doing with _him?_," she asked, jabbing her finger towards the Prince, keeping her voice low so only I could hear. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Uh... He's my friend..."

"May I see your markings?" she asked. Without answering, I pulled my hair off my neck and turned, giving her a clear view of the angelic writing on the back of my neck. "…Angelina Samira…" she whispered, "no rank… you should not have come here." I let my hair back down, and turned back around, my brow furrowed in confusion.

"What? Why not?" Before either of us could speak again, the Prince chose that particular moment to shove Shadhee to the ground and thrust his sword into her stomach.

"Are you alright?" he asked us when he came over. I just shrugged, while Kaileena, with a look of obvious disgust, just brushed right past him without a word.

"You should not have come here. Either of you," she said firmly.

"Wait!" the Prince called after her, "Please, I must speak with you." At that, Kaileena rounded on him.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, her hands on her hips.

"I seek an audience with the Empress."

"The Empress meets with no one. Who do you think you are?"

"I am the Prince of Persia. And this is my partner, Naomi Fox." Kaileena paused for a second, as if sizing him up, considering how best to deal with the situation.

"I see," she said finally, "Today is a very important day. She cannot be disturbed." But the Prince wasn't about to take no for an answer. Not after all he'd been through to get here.

"I don't think you understand how important this is!" he argued, but before he could continue, Shadhee stirred.

"You… fool…" she gasped, a slight smirk on her blood stained lips, "Don't you know? You cannot change your fate…" and with her dying breath, she collapsed back down and her body exploded into a sand cloud.

"'You cannot change your fate…" the Prince mused after the dust had settled a little, "Was she speaking to me? How could she know my mission?" but before anyone could say anything else, the ceiling started giving away from the shock of Shadhee's demise. "Watch out!" the Prince shouted, grabbing Kaileena and tossing her to safety. I quickly opened my wings and leapt backwards, as did the Prince. Just in time, too. Rubble and dust came crashing down, breaking the steps and separating us from Kaileena.

When the dust settled, I looked towards Kaileena, making sure she was alright, which she was. I watched as the Prince looked at the huge ravine that now stood between him and his ticket to seeing the Empress.

"Stay there!" he ordered Kaileena, "I will find my way to you!" But Kaileena wasn't about to listen.

"No, Prince!" she argued, stepping forward to emphasize her point, "Leave this place and never come back! The Empress has no love for the world of men. She will kill you if she learns of your presence here!" And with that, she turned and left.

I merely shrugged when the Prince looked back at me. Even though I knew the 'truth' about Kaileena, I wasn't about to tell him that. I wasn't about to mess around with the timeline. I mean, just look at where that got Princy. But even so… maybe I could catch up to her and get more information... and maybe she could tell me what that stupid little voice is!

"Prince," I began and waited for him to look at me before continuing, "I'm going to catch up to her and see what I can find out. Ok?" He just nodded once.

"Alright. Be careful," he cautioned. I gave him a quick smile, spread my wings and took off after Kaileena. I didn't have to fly for very long before catching up with her. Apparently she hadn't teleported… yet.

"Hey! Empress! Wait up!" She didn't stop. I didn't matter to me, since flying was faster than walking. I landed right next to her and started walking fast enough to match her pace. "Hey! Wait a moment, will you?" Finally she stopped and turned to me, looking rather annoyed.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Look, I know who and what you are, and I'm kinda going out on a limb by not telling the Prince. I just want to talk!" I pressed. She only sighed.

"Fine. Then come with me," she said, extending her hand. I took it and she teleported us to the Hourglass Chamber where we could talk without interruption.

"Now, would you mind telling me exactly who you are and why you're here, now that we can speak freely?" she demanded immediately.

"...Pushy, aren't you?" She continued to glare. "Fine." I decided I might as well tell her the whole truth about myself, since we were out of earshot of everything else. "It really all started seven years ago… I used to live in another world with my mother, until I had an... 'accident'... and I woke up here. As for why I'm here, the Prince is a good friend of mine who happens to be in mortal peril. Why _wouldn't_ I be here to help him?" She was quiet again.

"You said you were from another world?" she asked, her expression softening a little.

"Yeah, I am," I nodded.

"Then… you and I are not so different," she said, "I do not belong in this world, either, but for some reason, I cannot leave. And now, I am fated to die here by _his_ hand." I glanced off to the side.

"I've never been much of a believer in predestined fate…" I said, and looked back, "you probably won't believe me when I say this, but you don't have to die. Neither does the Prince." Scoffing, she put her hands on her hips.

"How can you stand there and say that when you have no experience in the matter?"

"Well… I may not know a lot of things, but that one thing I'm pretty sure about. How it's done is up to you… but one thing I won't do is let the Prince die after all he's been through already. I'll do my best to help the situation, though I can't promise anything for certain."

"You certainly are an angel… you sound exactly like one." She sounded like she was trying to sound exasperated, but I could see the beginnings of a smile. "But there's something not quite right about you." My mood fell and I stared at her. "I... cannot see into your future."

"...what?"

"There is an air of… uncertainty around you..." she began. "All I can make of it is that your ultimate fate is undecided."

"Undecided?" I repeated.

"Yes. Unlike the Prince, whose fate is written and sealed, yours is... It is as though fate cannot touch you." She turned her head to the side. "Give me your hands." I stood there gaping for a moment and mindlessly held my hands up. Kaileena took them and held them firmly. "Close your eyes." I did what she said, although I was starting to worry a little. Was not having a fate a bad thing? Or, considering the Prince, a good thing?

We stood there for a long while. I was starting to feel a little silly about it, when something began creeping into my mind. Kaileena's grip tightened, and then the visions came.

At first I had trouble making sense out of anything. They were just flashes of images and sounds, but the more they went on, the more sense they made, even if they were very brief. I saw the Prince and I standing together, then a flash of Babylon City, then I saw myself in the Prince's arms... and then I was in someone else's arms... then I saw an image on four people standing together, overlooking a city. I recognized myself and the Prince, and Farah was there too. But the fourth, a tall, muscular man... no, an Angel, I didn't know. Then, the visions stopped.

Kaileena dropped my hands and stepped back. I opened my eyes, my head still reeling from the experience.

"...I haven't seen this in a long time," she said softly.

"Uh-oh. What? Or do I even want to know?"

"Something is protecting you... I cannot say what it is exactly."

"Protecting me? What for?" I urged.

"I do not know. But there is a strong sense of destiny around you. There are forces already at work trying to tempt you. My advice to you is to ignore them and chose your own path."

"Well... I'll try. And I'll also try to help you as much as I can. even if it's in the time line, I won't let you die. Promise." She smiled gratefully, but shook her head.

"It won't matter in the end. What is written... cannot be changed."

"I don't believe that."

"Believe what you will. Fate cannot be changed."

* * *

Kiri: Well, another chapter in the bag! Sorry if this one seems poorly written... I was in a bit of a hurry to finish it. But enough of that, let's get to the FAQ!

Q: WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT LETTER NAOMI GOT IN CHAPTER 4!!!

A: ...jeeze, impatient, aren't we? she started to read it, but then stuffed it away and forgot about it, so chances are you won't know what it says until much later. So just have a little patience, will you?

Q: Fine. Why is Naomi's future all clouded like Kaileena said?

A: well, if you had been paying attention, it's because her future is undecided, meaning it hasn't been written yet. she'll have an important decision to make soon, which will decide what her ultimate destiny will be.

Q: Forces are trying to tempt her? What the crap?

A: Well, just like any other decision, there's always going to be two sides of the issue trying to sway you into thinking that doing it their way is better. It's no different in Naomi's case. The only real difference is that she isn't really aware of it yet.

Kiri: Ok, that's all for now... it's a school night, so I have to get to bed soon. Hopefully I'll have the next chappy ready soon!


	7. Which Way Do We Go?

Chapter 7

I was sitting at the base of the stars in the Hourglass Chamber when the Prince rolled in and joined us. He quickly healed himself at the fountain and came into the room. I gave him a little wave and a short smile before Kaileena came down the ladder, looking irritated but not surprised by his intrusion.

"You should not have come back. This is a dangerous place," she stated firmly, the Serpent Sword handing from her hand. The Prince came closer.

"I'm afraid I don't have… the luxury," he replied, "I must see the Empress."

"Impossible." At this point, I got up and joined the Prince's side.

"My mission," he pressed on, "It is very urgent. I must see her."

"You don't understand," Kaileena argued, determined to change his mind, "when the last grain falls from the hourglass, the Empress will create the Sands of Time. No business of yours can be more important than that." But the Prince was not about to give up.

"I have come to stop the Empress from creating the Sands." She paused a little, looking a little amused, but only a little.

"Then yours is a fools errand. The creation of the Sands was foretold in the timeline. It cannot be stopped." At this, the Prince pointed his finger accusingly.

"We just saved your life. Twice," he said firmly and somewhat menacingly. "All we're asking for is some information. Tell me where the Sands will be created." Kaileena seemed to study him a moment. She could probably tell that the Prince was not about to back down. After all, he was more stubborn than a mule. Finally, she pointed back to the throne room doors.

"In there," she said, her voice a little softer. "But the room has been sealed. You cannot enter." Crossing his arms, the Prince stared at the thick steel locks on the door.

"There must be a way." Kaileena laughed.

"You would have to undo the very fortifications of the castle! An impossible task!" Oh, here it comes, me favorite line in this game! Glee!

"When a man is faced with his own death," the Prince began, "He finds the impossible much less of a barrier." I had to restrain myself from leaping in the air and squealing like a little fan girl. If I remembered anything from the series, it was that line. But I couldn't hold back my grin. In fact, I actually had to turn around to hide it. "Tell me how," he finished.

"Very well," I heard Kaileena agree after some consideration and she began describing how to unlock the door. "The gate is controlled by an elaborate clockwork system located inside the Mechanical Tower. Even assuming you could reach the device and activate it the machine still needs power. As water passes through the moat, the machine will receive power. But first you'll have to fill the moat from the supply in the Garden Tower." She looked at the door briefly. "Activate both towers and the gate will open." I blinked.

"Wow…" I muttered, "That is a lot of work…" But I knew that prince would break his neck if he had to to do it.

"You'll need this," Kaileena continued, holding out the Serpent Sword to the Prince, who took it. "It's more than just a weapon. It also serves to activate a system of bridges which will grant you access to the other towers." She sighed. "It won't make a difference, though." The prince's eyes left his new weapon and went to Kaileena again.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Succeed or fail, the outcome is the same. You will not stop the sands from being created. What is written in the timeline cannot be changed."

"_Again_ with the timeline fate thing…" I said, rolling my eyes. But the Prince didn't give a reaction. He was probably as tired of hearing that as I was.

"Thanks for the advice. Let's go, Naomi." He started to leave. All I could do was offer Kaileena a small shrug before having to run to catch him.

"So what did the two of you talk about while I was gone?" the Prince asked me as we re-entered the central hall. I just shrugged.

"Nothing in particular," I replied. "Lots of weird stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, apparently my future is all clouded up cuz it's undecided," I explained, recollecting what Kaileena had said. "I guess I'll have some big important decision to make soon. Though I'm not sure exactly when… or what." I just watched as the Prince took his new sword in hand and stabbed it into the switch. Using it as a lever, her yanked it back, which looked like it took a considerable amount of strength and activated the bridges. I glanced around at all the possible routes.

"So… where to first?" I asked, "Turn on the machine? Or power it up?" the Prince stood next to me.

"She said that the machine needed power first. I think we should head to the Garden Tower first thing and give the machine power. Then activate it in the other."

"Sounds like a plan, man," I smiled. He only gave me a look before heading over to the lever at the other end of the room. He gripped the handle and started to turn it, but then stopped and looked up at the doorways. "What's wrong?" I called.

"Which way do we go?" I stopped. That was actually a good question. Which way DID lead to the Garden Tower? Let's see… eanie… meanie… miny… "Naomi?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could fly up there and find out?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I opened my wings and gracefully darted into the air and zipped through one of the doors, checked it out, then did the same with the others. Honestly, I had almost no memories of this part of the game… seven years of tarnish to the old memory banks, after all. I remembered there was a health upgrade somewhere around here… and two doors led to either tower…

When I came back down, I noticed immediately that the Prince was staring in the other direction and hadn't noticed that I was back. I couldn't resist. Staying ever so silent, I made like a church mouse and made my entrance from above. I carefully lowered myself down and then sat on his shoulders and tapped him on top of the head. He quickly looked up, but since his head couldn't lean that far back, he looked to the side instead.

"Naomi?" he said, even though he knew it was me, "Which way?" Without saying anything, I grabbed the sides of his head and turned it in the direction of the health upgrade.

"We need to go there before we go into the tower," I explained simply.

"Why?"

"Just be a good boy and trust me." I gently patted him on the head.

"…Are you sure that's the wisest move?"

"What, going that way?"

"No, trusting your…ah…'judgment.'" There was a moment of silence as I scowled at him, even though he couldn't see it.

"Oh, HA HA HA!" I exclaimed sarcastically. He chuckled. "That's just SO freaking FUNNY I forgot to laugh! Now shut up and get your royal ass up there!"

"Well, I can't turn the lever with you on my shoulders."

"Bet you could."

"No, I really can't. My balance will be thrown off and I won't have full use of my arms."

"So?"

"So, will you get off?"

"Maybe you should ask nicely."

"_Please_ get off?"

"Hmmm….. Nah, I don't feel like it. Ask again later."

"Naomi!"

"Yes?" He was getting frustrated. I could tell by that low growl in his throat. But hey, I was his best bud. I was supposed to push his buttons right to the limit. And boy, did I know exactly what buttons to push. "Say Prince," I began, lightly twirling a lock of his hair around my finger. "Your hair looks like it's seen better days. When's the last time you had a bath?"

"NAOMI!" At this point, I nearly hit the floor laughing. But it was time to stop teasing him. He was already mad to the point of strangling me. I quickly contained my laughter and jumped off of his shoulders. He quickly looked back at me with 'I'm-going-to-kill-you-by-the-end-of-the-day' written all over his face. To lighten to mood a little, I came over and hugged him and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"I'm just teasing you, Prince. That's what best friends are for. I only do it because I love you." That seemed to calm him down a little, but he was still aggravated. I moved behind him. "Here, I'll get us up there quicker." I wrapped my arms around his middle, spread my wings out and with a good amount of effort, got us both into the air.

He was a lot heavier than the last time I'd tried to keep us both airborne. But even with his extra weight, I'd gotten much, much stronger over the years and I could now carry him, even though it took quite a bit of muscle power.

"You've gotten stronger," the Prince said with evident amazement in his voice as I set him down in the trap-infested hallway.

"Yes, but when all this is over, you may want to consider dropping some weight," I answered, rubbing my arms. He turned around and looked down the hall.

"So, why are we going this way?"

"You'll see, Princy. You'll see."

* * *

Kiri: HOLY CRAPERSA ON A STICK YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!! 28 REVIEWS!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! 

Naomi: We seem to be getting popular...

Kiri: Yes, and it has made me a VERY VERY happy authoress. And just because I love you all, I'm going to try and finish another chapter today. I make no promises, but I'm going to try. In other news, I think I should let you all know now, this story may turn out to be short, since not much really happens here. But trust me, when part three comes out, THAT's when the shit hits the fan and all hells breaks loose and has a big Halloween bash in the living room! But there will be some important elements here to remember.

Naomi: great. Just freakin perfect.

Kiri: Well, no FAQ today. I gotta get started on that chapter then I've got homework to finish! So all ya'll keep the reviews comin', ok? Ciao!


	8. How High Can a Dahaka Jump?

Chapter 8

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed for the hundredth time in ten minutes. But the Prince wasn't even acknowledging me. He just continued nursing his wounded arm. There wasn't much he could do with it since there wasn't a fountain in sight, and since he'd finished yelling at me, he'd been giving me the cold shoulder. And believe me, that shoulder was really cold.

What happened? Well… we got the health upgrade and headed for the Garden Tower. Unfortunately, me, being the Clumsy-Crush-a-Lot that I am, I tripped over an up-rooted tree root and stumbled… right into the Prince. And by some cruel twist of fate, he just happened to be standing by a fairly high ledge. Well, we both went over the edge and before I could get my wings to respond, we hit the ground below. I was all right, for the most part, but the same could not be said for the Prince… whom I had landed right on top of.

He hand landed on his arm pretty hard… hard enough to crack it, maybe even break it. I don't know how bad it was, since the moment he recovered from the fall, he shoved me away, yelled a long string of curses and insults at me, and then turned his full attention to his arm, which was starting to bruise. Since then, I'd been apologizing up and down, trying to get him to forgive me. To talk to me. To just LOOK at me! It wasn't going very well.

"Prince, I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to!" I sank to the ground and sat on my knees. "If you'd just let me... I'll… I'll fix it! I'll heal it, I promise!" …That was the worst possible thing you could've said, Naomi… but at least it caught his attention.

"How?" he barked, still very pissed off at me.

"I… uh…" Oh, WHY did I say that? Sure, I took a White Magic class at the Academy… but I came THIS close to flunking it! I don't remember any of that stuff! "I… I'll… I'll find a fountain! There has to be one near by! I'll get some water and bring it back!"

"If you don't drop it first…" My shoulders slumped.

"Prince, I'm really, really sorry! I didn't intend to do that, it just happened!" He stood up and rounded on me.

"My arm is broken, you clumsy idiot!" he all but screamed. And trust me, there's nothing scarier than a wounded, thoroughly pissed off, battle hardened Prince screaming at you.

"I'll get water!" I cried, desperately trying to make amends.

"Where are you going to find water? We haven't seen a fountain in a long time!"

"I don't know! But I'll find it! Just give me a chance!"

"Yes, and while you're gone, how am I supposed to defend myself with my sword arm in pieces?!"

"Use your other arm!" He turned on his heel and threw his good arm up.

"Yes, I'll just use my other arm! How simple! Even though it's no where near as balanced and strengthened as my other, I'm sure I'll do just wonderfully when I'm found by Sand Monsters or the Dahaka!"

"Maybe they won't find you!" By now I wasn't putting up a very strong argument, but I was starting to get upset.

"They won't find me?" the Prince retorted, "Of course! Even with the Empress' entire army as well at the Dahaka out looking to kill me, of course they won't find me!" He faced me again. "Sooner or later I will be found, and when I am discovered, I won't be able to defend myself! And I'll be completely at the mercy of the Empress why you fly around looking for a fountain that might not even exist! Seven years I've survived, and I'm not going to let it go to waste now because of _you!_" I felt hot tears start welling up in my eyes, but I used every bit of strength I had to force them back.

"Why are you yelling at me like this?!" I demanded, trying to keep my voice firm.

"You broke my arm!"

"I didn't mean to! I said I was sorry!

"Weather you meant to or not, and no matter how sorry you are, _it's still broken!"_

"I'll heal it! I'll find water!"

"THEN GO FIND IT!" I took an unconscious step back, my eyes widening slightly. Those tears I'd fought came back with a vengeance and I had to turn away. I didn't want him to see me with tears in my eyes. Neither of us said anything and the silence seemed to drag on and on. The tension between us was so thick I could've cut it with a knife. I had only one thought: I was going to lose it any second and I had to get out of there. If there was one thing I was not about to do, I was _not_ going to let the Prince see me cry.

Without another word, I opened my wings and left the horrible scene, fighting back angry tears the whole time. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get his words out of my head: _"You stupid klutz! You brainless harlot! I should never have let you come with me! All you've done is slow me down!"_ Never, since the day I'd met him, had he screamed at me like that. Sure, I'd resolved that I was going to stop acting like an idiot and help him, but that time really wasn't my fault. I hadn't meant to hurt him…

When I was far enough away, I landed on a small ledge, sank to the ground and let it out. I cried, screamed and sobbed until I had nothing left to cry and even then, I continued sobbing. Maybe the Prince was right. Maybe I was just getting in the way, despite my good intentions. Maybe I was a bigger burden than I was an asset. Maybe… I should just go home.

Home… I hadn't thought about them in a while…Back up in the Heavens, in my cozy little apartment, kicking back on my couch, eating cake and sipping hot chocolate… I'd always felt so at peace up there, even when I was running around in a panic trying to get everything together right before a class. And Gabby was the best friend any Angel could ask for…

You have to admit, a relaxing day in the Heavens sounded WAY more appealing than sticking around this island with a grumpy Prince another minute. Well, it didn't take a German rocket scientist to figure out what I decided to do. As soon as I found water for the Prince's arm, I was going to tell him that I was going home and that he would no longer have to worry about little ol' me getting in the way and screwing things up. I was just going to pack it up and leave. He could probably get through those towers faster with no one around to bother him.

But first things first. I had to find him some water before the Dahaka found him. Grudgingly, but determined, I stood up, rubbed my eyes and scanned the area. It seemed pretty empty… but low and behold, there was a fountain on a far off ledge. Perfect. Now all I needed was something to keep the water in. I sluggishly glided to the fountain. There, I bent over it and stared at my reflection. My eyes were still red, and my face was still slightly bloated from crying. I couldn't let the Prince see me like this, so I cupped my hands in to water and splashed it on my face, trying to get rid of the evidence.

After I'd washed my face, I found an old worn vase nearby. I washed it out (there was no sand inside, but there was dust galore) and filled it with water. I sighed heavily, knowing it was time to go back to the Prince, and honestly, I was dreading it. I didn't want to go back there. I didn't want to get screamed at again. But maybe when I brought the water back, he wouldn't be so mad anymore…

I was in no hurry to get back. I jut glided downwards, back to where I left the Prince, the vase of water hanging from my barely-clutched fingertips. I could almost feel my eyes start tearing up again, but thankfully they didn't. At least, not so much that it was noticeable.

But my melancholy mood wouldn't last. A loud roar suddenly burst from the vegetation. I knew that roar… that low, deep, menacing voice… Seven years had passed… but I still remember it.

"The Prince…" I gasped, my eyes widening in horror. Without another word, I darted into the trees towards the source of the noise. Well, my bad feeling was right. Dahaka. It had found the Prince and was now in hot pursuit of him. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the Prince running for his life once again, clutching his broken arm protectively to his chest, and not daring to look over his shoulder. He could run, but there was no way he could pull off any of his acrobatics with only one arm. He was in danger.

Without thinking, I flew after them. Mind you, flying was much faster than running, but just how the hell did I plan on getting rid of something like the Dahaka? Maybe it would've been wise to figure out a plan first… but at the moment, the only thought in my mind was that the Prince was in danger and I had to do _something. _

He actually held up pretty well for a short while, since he didn't have to do much with his arms. Mostly running, jumping over short distances and wall running. For a moment, I though he would make it… I was wrong. It happened so fast I almost didn't register it. There was a cliff… the Prince skidded to a halt, nearly falling over the edge… Dahaka closed in… My brain went offline… then…

"HEY UGLY!" I used the forgotten vase of water and splashed it all over the demon. He immediately let out deafening roars of pain as the water took effect. I used this few extra second to dart around him, grab the Prince's good arm and haul us both into the air.

"Naomi!" the Prince exclaimed, surprised by my sudden appearance. But honestly, I was too busy trying to get us the hell out of there. Apparently, my little water attack hadn't gotten rid of the demon. No, it had just pissed it off. Big time.

"You can thank me later! Going UP!" I turned upward sharply, making sure I kept a firm grip on the Prince's wrist. I didn't know how high that thing could jump, but I was going to find out.

The now enraged Dahaka immediately gave chase, leaping in the air after us. To my surprise, he could jump pretty high. All the more reason to panic. I kept flying as fast as I could with the added weight, going high and high. Only problem was that the Dahaka kept jumping higher and higher… Time for a new strategy. I turned sharply to the left, which successfully threw him off a little, but after a moment, he was right back on our tail. I turned right. Same results. This was not going to get us anywhere. Come on, Naomi, think!

I started my upward climb again. But this time, it wasn't angled. This time, I went straight up… and up… and up… and I soon became so focused on going up to get away from the demon waiting to tear us into little pieces. Well, I had news for that thing. I was NOT about to let him turn us into a Prince and Naomi sandwich, no matter how hungry he was! I became so focused on getting away that I didn't notice that I had out climbed the Dahaka… and that the Prince was yelling at me to stop.

"Naomi! It's gone! You can stop now!" His message finally sunk in and I calmed down. Then I realized that he was right. I had definitely lost him… In fact, the Island looked like a little dot. Wow… I'd never gone this high before… but while I found the view quite intriguing, the Prince wasn't too keen on sightseeing the curvature of the Earth.

"Can you put us down now?!" he exclaimed, sounding nervous. I glanced down at him.

"…Don't look down," I said simply, and started our descent. I lowered back to the island slowly, hoping that the Dahaka wasn't waiting for us to come back down. Thankfully, he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and he'd decided to leave and wait somewhere else. It took a while, but I finally got us back to solid ground, which the Prince was more than thankful for.

I didn't notice that I still had the vase in my arm. It was empty now, since I'd used it to distract the Dahaka… great. Now the Prince would probably get mad at me for not having any water for his arm. There was an uncomfortable, stubborn silence between us as things settled down again. I remembered my resolve to leave, and I wondered how he would react when I told him. Would he not care and say something like, "Very well. Things will go much faster with you gone."? I sighed. It was time to tell him.

"Prince," I started, stepping toward him bravely, "I have to tell you something. I'm—"

"Naomi… I didn't mean those things I said," he cut me off. I froze and started at him in his tired form, slumped down on the grass. I admit, it took me completely by surprise and caught me off guard.

"W-what?" he slowly stood up and turned around, an expression of… was that guilt on his face?

"I'm sorry I yelled at you the way I did," he said, coming towards me. "I was in pain and angry… I said a lot of things I shouldn't have." I gaped at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. Only a few minutes ago, he was screaming his head about how worthless I was! "You're my best friend, Naomi. You're the only friend I've had that has stuck by me through thick and thin… just because you care about what happens to me. I suppose… I suppose all these years of rough living made me forget how much I value your friendship." He took my hand. "Can you forgive me?"

Guilt washed over my like a tidal wave. What the hell had I been thinking?! What's wrong with me?! The Prince was my friend. My lifelong friend. Sure he'd been furious because of his arm… but what the hell made me think he was going to let our friendship be destroyed because of an accident? And here I had been ready to abandon him!

Again, I felt tears in my eyes, but I didn't let them get far. Just tossed my arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as I could.

"Ow! Naomi, my arm!" he protested. Oops... I'd forgot about that. I quickly let go. He carefully rubbed it.

"I found water for it…" I said softly, "But I used it to distract the Dahaka… sorry…"

"It's fine," he answered, trying to cheer me up, "you saved my life, even after I… made you cry." My eyes went wide. He'd SEEN that?! "Sorry… it was just so obvious that you were about to cry when you turned away from me." I dropped my gaze to the ground as my face grew hot. But the important thing was that the big lug was forgiving me for breaking his arm and was asking me to forgive him for emotional damage. I couldn't help it. I hugged him again, this time being careful of his arm.

"So… what was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked after a moment. I stopped. Damn, forgot about that! Well I think it's safe to say that I changed my mind about leaving.

"I… It… isn't important," I said quickly, letting go of him and picking my vase back up. "I'll go get some more water for your arm… Then we have a tower to activate."

* * *

Kiri: Well, there it is! Another chapter in the same day, just like I promised. even though it's 10 at night, it's still Sunday! But unfortunately. It's Sunday. That means that tomorrow is school, so I have to get my butt to bed. So no FAQ this time around... maybe next time. Until then! 


	9. Constellation

Chapter 9

It had finally gotten dark. We were only about halfway through the Garden Tower, but it was time to stop and rest. After all, the Prince may be a kick-ass warrior with a shiny sword, but he was still human and still needed rest, no matter how accustomed he was to staying awake for days on end. I was no different, either. Even as an Angel, I didn't have the Prince's stamina for staying awake and by now, I was ready to drop.

Before we fell asleep, the two of us, having made up after our little spat earlier, lay on the soft grass and stared up at the sky. If there was one thing I absolutely LOVED about the ground world, it was the night sky. The Heavens were nice and all… but there were no stars… no moon… nothing at night.

Thinking about the night sky made me remember back to our first adventure when I'd seen that figure on the observatory roof. I'd studied constellations at the Academy and I could easily pick them out now. Only thing was… the one I remembered we'd never covered. I'd asked my professor about it once, but apparently he had no idea what I was talking about. I don't know about that, though. I got the impression that he was hiding something. But why would he hide something like that?

"Nay Nay," the Prince said. He'd started using that nickname again, if only sparingly.

"Yes, Princy?" I replied, bestowing a nickname of my own onto him.

"Do you remember back in Azad, when you asked me about that observatory figure?" he asked. Speak of the Devil.

"Yes," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, when I returned to Babylon afterward, I asked one of my father's astronomers about it."

"Oh yeah? And what did he say?" The Prince let out a short chuckle.

"He thought I was crazy." I had to laugh at that. I could just imagine some old guy telling the Prince off for a hyperactive imagination or something. It didn't surprise me, though. After all, if the professors at the Academy don't know about it (coughcough) then why in the world would astronomers down here know about it? But to my surprise, the Prince continued, "So about a month later, I asked the Old Man if he knew."

"Wow, you went through all kinds of trouble to find out for me, didn't you?" I teased, poking him in the side. "That's sweet."

"Well, the Old Man told me that the constellation was symbolic of an old prophecy, or something like that."

"A prophecy? What prophecy?"

"I questioned him further, but he would give no more answers. I even looked in a good number of books in my father's library, but I couldn't find anything."

"Wow… a prophecy…" I repeated, my eyes tracing the stars forming the shape, my imagination already at work. I remembered studying prophecies. According to my book, only the stars, (or fates, whatever you want to call them. They're still little spots in the sky to me) can instigate a prophecy and they do this by forming a constellation. And if what my professor said is true, then you can distinguish a fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy by the way the stars are twinkling.

Looking at this one, it hadn't been fulfilled yet. I wonder whom it's meant for… Well, hopefully not me ;).

"Well… that's something at least," I offered and rolled over onto my side. "I'm tired. And I think both of us would do well with at least a few hours of sleep. Good night, Prince." He rolled onto his other side.

"You're right. Good night, Naomi."

* * *

Kiri: (sigh...) Sorry for the ridiculously short chapter, guys. I had to go in for surgery today on my foot. And right now it hurts like all hell, I'm exhausted, and a bit grumpy. But the good news is that with the weekend coming up and the doc's orders to stay off of my foot, I'll have plenty of downtime for a new chapter. Don't worry, the next one I write will have much more going on and will be more interesting that all this crap, though it was important to the plot. I'll just do a short quicky FAQ today and then I have to figure out how the hell I'm going to get around school tomorrow with my foot like this...

Q: This chapter sucked!

A: That's not a question. And I already told you, my foot is out of commission, it hurts and I can't think straight at all, especially with an 800 mg horse tablet painkiller in my system. So just deal with it and hopefully next chapter will be better.

Q: Ok, fine. So, the Prince has gone back to callig her Nay Nay?

A: Yeah, sort of. after they made up for their little fight, they grew a little fonder of each other and the Prince resurrected the name he bestowed on her in the first story. Sure, it's stupid, but you have to admit, the whole concept it adorable.

Q: What's this prophecy business all about?

A: Maybe you should wait until next chapter and find out for yourself.

Q: ok... why didn't the Old man tell the Prince more about it?

A: Because.

Q: Because why?

A: Because because.

Q: grrr... Well, is the Dark Prince comming soon?!?!

A: Didn't I already answer this? First of all, I shouldn't have to answer weather or not he'll be in it at all. Second, HOLD YOUR BLOODY HORSES. Keep in mind that Darkly didn't appear at all until game three, so what makes anyone think that I'm going to bring his in this early? BE PATIENT!

Q: FINE! why was the Prince being an ass last chapter? How could he be so mean to Naomi like that!

A: Well, when you're in serious pain and as angry as he was that his arm had been snapped in two, you'd be yelling and screaming too. He didn't mean most of what he said, he was just seeing red and momentarily forgot that it had been an accident. Seeing Naomi tear up like she did brought him back to his senses somewhat and while she was gone, he had time to calm down and think rationally about it. Until Dahaka appeared, that is.

Kiri: Alright, I think that's enough... for now, I'm off to bed to rest my foot. Stay tuned for the next chapter. Hopefully then I won't be so grouchy.


	10. Ribs

Chapter 10

I wasn't sure how long we slept, but when I woke up, the sky was just barely lit with the first few rays of the morning sun. There were still some stars out, though not as many as there had been. At first, I thought that I was back home and that I'd fallen asleep in the back yard on the grass again.

It wasn't until I tried to move that I realized where I was. I was still on the Island with the Prince, trying to change his fate. What made me remember? Well… I was on my back, and somehow the Prince's arm had gotten hold of me. But it wasn't like he was just gripping my arm or trying to huddle close to me like he'd had a nightmare and had grabbed me in his sleep for comfort. If it had been something like that, I would've just blown it of and woke him up.

No, instead, one arm was underneath me, his hand right under my ass. Well, not technically _on_ my ass, but it was but between my thigh and cheek, right at that point where you would slap a guy and leave while on a first date. Hid other arm was draped over my chest and this hand had a nice firm grip on my boob. And if that wasn't enough… Dear lord, the man was drooling! Yup, the creepy meter just went from a 2 to an 8.

I didn't know if this was an accident or if he'd woken up and decided to be a pervert, but my first reaction and to jump up and start slapping the ever loving crap outta him. I didn't, but that's what I wanted to do for a split second. But his face looked pretty serious, (aside from the drool) so I assumed it must've been an accident. My second idea was that maybe, if I was careful, I could wiggle away without disturbing him, but when I reconsidered how tightly he was holding my breast, I dropped that idea. I'd just have to wake him up.

"Pst…" I hissed at his sleeping form. He didn't move. "Pssst! Prince… wake up!" He twitched, but that was about it. Then I did something that could easily be filed under the stupidest move of all times. I touched him. And believe me, that last thing you ever want to do it touch a sleeping badass warrior Prince with a shiny sword that's as big as you are.

I barely had time to react as his sword slashed through the air, nearly chopping my face off. He didn't, but he did manage to get a few hairs.

"Prince! It's me! I swear!" I cried hurriedly, then, "EEEEK!" Panicking, I laid flat on the ground, desperately trying to become one with the grass as he swung again, vertically, this time. The Prince of Persia was going to chop me in half. Great, just wonderful. What a lovely way to start off the day.

I shielded myself with my arms and waited for him to slice me in two… but it never came. When I realized this, I slowly, cautiously opened one eye and saw him sitting on his knees, staring at me like he'd just woken up from a long sleep and wasn't sure where he was.

"Naomi?" he said, confusion evident in his voice. I relaxed. "What's going on?"

"I-I think you just scared ten years off my life," I replied, my eyes still wide, my brain still trying to resister that I was alive. He seemed to put two and two together real fast and his expression quickly turned to concern.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes quickly scanning me.

"I think you're gonna have to help me up… then hold me up," I answered. He gave a small smile, then picked up his sword and sheathed it again.

"I'm sorry, Naomi," he began, then turned back to me and opened his mouth to explain, but I held up a shaky hand to stop him.

"I know, Prince, you don't have to explain." With his help, I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair, making sure my head was still firmly attached. My body was still trying to get a hold of itself.

"Are you sure you're all right? I didn't harm you…?" the Prince persisted.

"Not physically, but I know now to never, ever, ever touch you while you're asleep." He smiled again, but it faded quickly.

"Why did you wake me?"

"Well, you had your hand clamped all over my breast! What was I supposed to do? Snuggle up and give you a kiss? Cuz if so, I've got news for ya." He stared at me blankly for a moment, then down at his hand, then back at me. He opened his mouth to ask another question, which I quickly answered before he could ask. "Yes, you somehow managed to grab hold of my boobs while you were sleeping. I don't know how or when it happened, but it was very uncomfortable."

"Oh… My apologies." I sighed deeply. I didn't mean to be so short with him, but I was still recovering from the adrenaline burst. I needed to calm myself down.

"Don't worry your head about it, Princy," I said quickly as I got to my feet and walked off, heading for the small stream I'd seen the previous day to clean myself up. I bet after that scare, my hair had turned itself white.

Well, I was lucky on that front. My hair was still it's beautiful shade of cerulean, my eyes were still deep blue and my face still had it's color, though the feathers on my wings were all ruffled up. When I saw that, my spirits dropped. If there was one thing I hated, it was when my wings got ruffled up like this. It takes forever to groom them back! The last time it took my three hours to get them all straightened out again! That was time I really didn't have. Well, might as well just do what I can.

I sat by the river and straightened out my feathers as best I could within ten minutes, which wasn't the best of jobs, but it would have to do until I could find the time to get it done properly. After that, I washed my face and arms and hurried back to meet the Prince, whom was strapping on his breastplate, but having a bit of a hard time.

"Need help?" I asked as I sat on the grass a little ways over. He looked at me and I could've sworn I saw a flash of 'I-certainly-don't-need-help-from-the-likes-of-a-woman-like-you-so-bug-off-because-if-I-can't-do- it-by-myself-I'm-not-a-real-man.' But after a moment, he sighed and gave up.

"All I can get," he answered, exasperated. I grinned and slunk behind him and started poking around at all the buckles and whatnot, occasionally asking him if it was too tight or too loose or too whatever. I did this for a few minutes until I noticed something… a little weird. On his lower left side, there was a nasty bruise. And I mean nasty. It was blue, purple, green, black, yellow and if I looked hard enough I could see the rest of the colors of the rainbow. It was fairly large, too. Curious, I gently touched it, which made the Prince immediately cringe dramatically and gasp in pain. I furrowed my brow and pressed a little harder, which made him jump up.

"Prince, what is that?" I asked, though I had my suspicions.

"N-nothing," he answered quickly—A little too quickly. I lifted an eyebrow.

"Nothing? Prince, bruises like that don't just appear."

"It's nothing," he insisted, returning his attention to his breastplate. But I wasn't just going to drop the subject.

"Let me see it." I also got up and tried to move behind him again to take a closer look, but he turned away. I tried again, but he did the same. This childish play went on for several minutes before I grew frustrated with him. "Prince, just let me look at it!"

"I'm fine!" he insisted, though I could tell it was hurting him. I sighed, and put my hands on my hips. He was just going to keep being stubborn no matter how much I yelled.

I cleared my throat. "Prince, either let me see it, or else."

"Or else what?" he challenged.

"Or else I'll just have to tickle you." He stared at me like I'd grown another head.

"...Excuse me?"

"You heard me. And don't think I won't do it, either. You remember Azad as well as I do."

"Naomi, this is ridiculous. Can't you just let it go? I am perfectly alright." I just gave him a look, and started to advance on him. "Naomi, please! There are far more important matters at hand!" I cracked my knuckles. "Why do you insist on this childish behavior?! My life is in danger and you... you... STOP!" He held his hands out to stop me just as I started to reach out to him. "Fine! Have it your way!"

"That's better. See, was that so hard?" He glared at me.

I knelt down to get a better look at his waist. Careful not to hurt him too much, I brushed my fingertips across the bruise and lightly pressed on it. He cringed again, but didn't leap away. It didn't take me long to figure it out.

"How long have you had this broken rib, Prince?" I asked, standing up and looking him in the eye. He stared for a moment, and then looked away shamefully, as if I were about to hit him.

"I… It… a couple days…" he dropped his voice and trailed off as he said that. I just stared.

"A couple days," I echoed, my next actions evident in my voice. He nodded guiltily. Well, he'd been right about one thing. I _did_ hit him. I punched him in the arm as hard as my girly arms possibly could. All this time, he'd been running around with hid rib in pieces and he never said anything?! Why didn't he tell me! I would've fixed him up if he had without having to slap the crap out of him! He just didn't want anyone trying to tell him to take it easy until his bone healed and he didn't want it slowing him down. "Why didn't you say anything, you idiot!" I cried as loud as I could, probably letting the whole tower know where we were, but by my tone, they probably didn't dare get anywhere near.

"I-I just…" he blabbered, rubbing his arm and still not looking me in the eye. "I didn't want you to worry."

"You didn't want me to worry?! Prince, I'm your best friend! I'm _supposed_ to worry about you! It's my _job_ to worry about you! But now I'm just going to worry all the MORE because now I don't know if I can trust you to tell me that you're hurt!" I shrieked, "If you had said something to me before, rather than keeping it a secret, pretending it wasn't there and probably making it WORSE, I could've fixed it easy! But now, who knows how much damage has been done! For all I know, it could've punched a hole in your lungs!" I'd also like to know why this wound didn't just heal up like his arm did when I brought the water.

The Prince didn't do much except look pitiful. He expression much resembled the ever famous 'caught with his hands in the cookie jar and it now getting scolded by mommy' look. Honestly, when it comes right down to it, men are all the same. Finally, he looked up.

"Can you fix it now?" he asked timidly. I guess the old saying was right. Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned. Hell, even the Prince, who could probably easily take me down with one move was acting like a timid child. I sighed, my anger slowly fading.

"I'll try," I answered, "but I probably won't be able to do much." His face seemed to brighten a little bit when my voice calmed down, but not much. "Come on, I'll see what I can do for it."

* * *

Kiri: Awww... yknow, you guys always have a way of cheering me up when I'm not in the best of moods. My foots feels so much better already! So I decided to crank this one out a bit early. But a funny thing happened this morning... my closet pole thingie broke! yknow that pole thingie that hold all the clothes? It fell right off! So now I'll have to dedicate a good part of the day getting all my clothes off the floor so dad can fix it. So again, short FAQ today.

Q: ...Is the Prince a freaking pervert of something?

A: no, I just thought it would be really funny if the Prince accidentally coped a feel. It'd also be funny to see the Prince as a total horn dog, but don't count on me to write about that.

Q: The prince drools when he sleeps... that's just gross.

A: Again, another little element I added in there to make it more funny.

Voices outside: WHERE IS SHE! WHERE'S THE AUTHORESS!

A: ...uh oh... better hurry!

Q: Why did he try to cut Naomi in half?

A: Well, he was having to sleep lightly in order to stay aware of his surroundings in case the Dahaka came while he was asleep. So naturally, after doing that for seven years, of course he would do it to Naomi. Just be glad he caught himself before he did something he could regret.

Q: Why didn't the Prince tell Naomi about his rib!

A: He's a man. and as a man, he has this whole male pride thing going on. You know how guys are... if they they think that everyone else sees them as useless, his whole world falls apart. Princy is no different.

Voices: OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW!

A: eh... yeah, just ignore them. Heheh.

Q: O.o uh... k... what's with the little voice thingy?

A: just another Angel ability.

Q: you're giving her too many angel powers. You suck. You're making her immortal!

A: First, she's FAR from immortal. Second, keep in mind that Naomi wasn't the best student at the Academy and has had little to no practice with her abilities. Third, how can I suck when I've got people wanting to marry my brain?

Q: ...

A: that's what I thought.

Voices: OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW, KIRI! I'LL BREAK IT DOWN, I SWEAR!

Kiri: eh heheh... I think that's enough for now. I'll start work on the next chapter later on, once I get the closet issue squared away. That was almost comical in a way, to be honest...

Voice: I'M GONNA COUNT TO TEN, AND I'M BREAKING IT DOWN!

Kiri: uh oh... well, I better go find a good place to hide first. So until next chapter, Ciao!


	11. End Tower

Chapter 11

I learned a couple things while I was doctoring up the Prince of Persia. One: the bruise had made it look much worse than it really was. Two: torn pieces of curtains make bad compression bandages. And three: the Prince was a very good actor. He'd gone who knows how long without showing me one hint of pain, but while I was trying my best to wrap it and cushion it from the hard leather of his armor, he'd quickly cut the act and started screaming his lungs out.

What I still couldn't figure out was why it didn't heal when the Prince drank that water. The only explanation I can come up with is that it never quite healed all the way, or it healed improperly, (which is believable, considering how tight he wears his breastplate) and he kept re-breaking it. Either the Prince was living proof that it was better to be lucky than smart, or he had an angel watching over him, speaking figuratively.

We'd since then started moving again. I'd offered to go find him more water to help him heal a little faster, but he just shook his head and said he'd wait until he saw one. We'd wasted enough time there already.

"Are you sure you're alright? You keep wincing…" I said for what could've been the fifth time in the last hour or so. He kept cringing every time he would move a certain way, or breathe too deeply, and I was getting concerned.

"It's painful, but I'll last until the next fountain," he assured me again. Thankfully, we found another one and he seemed a bit better after he had a few drinks, but I wasn't about to take any chances. Still… every time I looked at the makeshift compression wrap around his waist, I felt a strong urge to grab him by the shoulders and slap him around like mad for not telling me about it in the first place.

I'd say the rest of the tower went pretty smoothly. And by smoothly, I mean we ran into a bunch of enemies, ran into Dahaka a couple times and even stopped to goof off a couple times. …Hey, if we're out here risking our asses, we deserve at least a few minutes to screw off! And I think the Prince, though he wouldn't admit it, agreed with me on that. But the good thing is that we got through without getting killed, or without serious injury.

The Prince and I stood side by side after activating the Garden Tower and we watched the results of all our hard work flow out into the moat to power up the machine in the other tower. Needless to say, we were pretty proud of ourselves. That was probably evident when we turned to each other, smiled and shook hands. But even as we silently celebrated, there was still another tower to activate and the sooner we got through it the better.

"Woohoo! One down, one left, baby!" I shouted triumphantly, whirling back into the central hall, the Prince right behind me. And guess who was there waiting fore us? I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of her smiling slightly as I flew around in circles to celebrate the activation of the first tower, but she didn't seem so happy to see the Prince.

"Oh… it's you," she said unenthusiastically as the royal approached her.

"You seem surprised to see me," he answered. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Kaileena folded her arms.

"Surprised only that you insist on prolonging the inevitable." I'd say the Prince had had enough of _that_ conversation by now.

"Why did you help me?" he demanded. The Empress sighed.

"I don't know. I guess half because you remind me of the Empress, or of who I wish she could be."

"What do you mean?" the Prince questioned, now a little confused.

"Like you, she knows her own fate. She has seen it in the Timeline. But where you fight it, she has submitted. She accepts it." Kaileena shook her head, now somewhat aggravated. "They say knowledge is power, but I say it is a poison. Knowing the date and manner of her own death torments her. The closer it draws, the greater her pain." The Prince cocked his head a little.

"And you wish she would fight it, like me?" she turned away.

"Maybe it would give her something to live for." By this point, I was floating around lazily, listening to the conversation from above.

"You said that's only half the reason," the Prince pointed out, "What's the other half?" She looked at him again.

"My whole life I have known that what is written in the Timeline cannot be changed. Yet, something inside me wants you to succeed," she explained.

"And do you think I will?"

"No," she said, but then smiled, "but I admire you for trying." With that, she held out a curved blade to him. The Lion Sword. He took it without saying anything. He examined it a little, and then looked back at her with a sudden realization in his eyes.

"Your name," he said suddenly, "I haven't even asked your name, I've been so…" she cut him off.

"It's Kaileena." Then she looked away again, almost sadly. "You should go. The Hourglass is more than half empty. You haven't much time."

With that said and done, the Prince turned away and called me back down. On the way to catch up with the Prince I stopped quickly by Kaileena and lightly tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, just keep in mind one thing," I said, smirking humorously, "Smile today. It'll just get worse tomorrow." With that, I quickly few off to catch up to the Prince.

I lightly punched his shoulder to get his attention as I landed next to him. He glanced at me quickly, then returned his attention to the many paths that lead to various placed in the fortress.

"Which way, now?" he questioned. I looked around, and then pointed to the door on the opposite side to the path leading to the Garden Tower.

"That way." He used the turnstile to bring up the columns in order to get up to the doorway. I admit, I couldn't help but get a slight sense of power over him, knowing that I could just fly up there without having to tire myself out climbing and jumping and whatnot every time we had to get over something like this. And I just couldn't help but tease him.

"About time, slow poke," I taunted playfully as he finally got up to where I was waiting. I lightly poked him in the belly. He didn't say anything and threw me a death glare.

"Just because _you _have _wings_…" I heard him grumble irritably.

"Aw, don't be like that Princy," I said cheerfully, fluttering next to him. "You can have them too, just grow some!"

"Or, how about I just break yours off so you can experience all this for yourself!" he snapped back. Well, that did it. That completely killed my cheery mood. I landed, my wings drooping a little, my smile now faded, and my feelings hurt. He didn't stop, or even acknowledge that I had come to a halt.

"That wasn't nice…" I mumbled, my eyes dropping to the ground. But he was getting ahead of me already and that was bad. I reluctantly started walking again, quiet this time, and glaring at the tall…dark… handsome…… MEAN, MEAN, MEAN Persian Prince ahead of me. Boy, his mood swings were really starting to bum me out. Well, only one more tower left, then we can get all this crap done and go home.

I hope.

* * *

Kiri: damn, another hard one... Sorry it kinda sucks, but I had some writer's block to contend with. Well, not much to say except that the next few chapters might go very quickly, since I don't have much to write about during the time they're in the second tower. and also, no FAQ today... don't feel like it. Bt I need to go shower now, then I'll start on the next chapter. So until then, Ciao! 


	12. Barrow

Chapter 12

I hadn't spoken to the Prince for a good half hour by now. We were a good ways through the Clock Tower already, and luckily for me, there hadn't been much need to communicate yet. But like I cared. He'd been mean to me, and I was just going to ignore him until he exploded from guilt!

It's just too bad that giving the cold shoulder wasn't very effective against someone who was way too focused on more important matters. Like activating this tower. I know, it was my pathetic attempt at revenge, but he'd really hurt my feelings with that 'break your wings off' comment! Sure, it was kinda my fault for teasing him at the wrong time… but was that really any reason to threaten my poor wings? I think a simple 'shut up' would've sufficed. Or a 'Naomi, this is not the time' or even a 'Naomi, YOU SUCK!' would've done the job…

Oh well, what can you do when you've got a stubborn, moody, self-centered warrior Prince as a partner?

I must not have been paying much attention because the Prince suddenly stopped and shouted at the top of his lungs, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" I jumped, thinking for a split second that he was talking to me. But I turned quickly and was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Sand Wraith just before he ran out of sight.

I smiled. I may not remember much about the games, but I do remember the Wraith. And it's kinda nice to know that there's another Prince running around, looking after us. Hopefully that Prince wasn't a big meanie.

"What was that?" I asked, feigning ignorance. The Prince looked at me.

"That figure has been stalking us since the beginning. Haven't you noticed?" I just blinked.

"Uh… no, not really, no." He just gave me a look, opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but changed his mind. I looked up at the balcony again. "I know! Let's go follow him!" We had to go up there anyway, so what the hell, eh?

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"…Huh?"

"That thing tried to kill me! You shouldn't go up there alone!" It was only then that I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him.

"Watch me, meaniepants!" I snapped, "I can do whatever I want!" Then I darted off before he could answer.

I landed on the edge of the platform the Sand Wraith had run onto and looked around. I spotted him nearby, looking like he hadn't expected me to chase him. The two of us just stood there for an awkward moment, staring each other down in silence. I kept expecting him to turn and hightail it out of here, we would have an exciting chase, and it would all end in a dramatic unmasking, but he didn't move. His abnormally bright blue eyes just seemed to burn into my own, and I could sense a mix of emotions in his gaze.

Sadly, out moment didn't end well. While I was racking my brain for something to say, a giant golem just came barreling out of almost nowhere and grabbed the unsuspecting Wraith. Before he could react, the golem tossed him off to the side and he landed very ungracefully in the alcove on the far wall, crashing into some hard objects along the way.

But I wasn't stupid. I immediately darted into the air and away from the ridiculously strong brute. I intended to go back to the Prince, who had continued on with the Tower… but the wraith… he _was_ the Prince in the future, after all. I had to at least make sure he was ok. So I did. I flew to the alcove he'd been tossed into and searched. I found him, unconscious, but thankfully unharmed. He would be out for a good while, but at least he was safe for the time being.

Well, now that I knew he was all right, I guess now I'll have to head back and (shudder) rejoin that grouchy Persian Prince partner of mine. With a heavy sigh, knowing that I would have to spend at least a couple more hours in silence. Great.

Sometimes I really hate being right. Around an hour later, I found myself stuck in an uncomfortable silence as I hovered around, waiting for the Prince to make his way over all the obstacles and gaps and whatnot. And to tell you the truth, I was getting bored. And you know what else? I started thinking about how much easier this would be if the Prince also had wings like I did.

I yawned and tipped backwards, then lost my balance and did a clumsy back flip in midair. The Prince was still trying to make his way to where he was trying to get to. I knew he was going as fast as he could, but damn, if he got any slower…

"Princy…" I started, not really thinking about what I was saying, "shall I take a nap while I'm doing all this waiting?" He glared up at me.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" he snapped, "what do you expect me to do, grow wings and fly?" I grinned.

"I did it, didn't I?"

"You're an Angel!"

"So?"

"Naomi, this is not the time for games!"

"Sure it is, Grumpy!" I heard him growl in the back of his throat and I could just imagine the look he was giving me now. It was amusing for about the first five seconds, and then I felt a little guilty. I seriously needed to stop teasing him so much already. He was having a hard enough time as it is. He didn't need me adding to his load. Smiling softly, I glided down to where he was standing, facing away from me, getting ready to jump to a beam. I lightly slid my arms around his neck. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. But I'm so damn bored over here!" I lazily leaned into him, resting my cheek against his shoulder blade. "Couldn't you speed things up? Just a little bit?" He sighed.

"I already said… I'm going as fast as I can," he answered, his voice softer and much more relaxed this time. Yknow something funny? You would think that after all this time on the run with hardly any time at all to eat, sleep or even bathe, that the Prince would smell like all horrible things combined. But he didn't. Quite the contrary, actually. He smelled like a combination of freshly baked cookies, monoli oil, and soft soil after a light summer rain and coconuts. I don't know how all these smells could mix together so well, but they did and I couldn't help but breath deeply, savoring every breath. I vaguely wondered for a moment what he would taste like, if he smelled this good…

"Naomi…? Naomi, are you listening?" I snapped out of Ga-Ga Land and let go of the Prince, whom turned to me.

"What?" I asked stupidly. He just gave me a look, and then shook his head.

"Why can I never stay angry with you, Nay Nay?" he asked playfully. I shrugged.

"Because… I'm a girl," I replied, kind of pushing my chest out a little. "But you know something, I kinda wish you had wings like I do… at least then we'd be able to bypass half this crap." I gestured to the ravine.

"Couldn't you just carry me across? Like you did in the central hall?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No… even though I'm stronger and I can lift you up, you're way to heavy for me to carry over a distance like this."

"But what about—"

"That time was a fluke. Dahaka was after us, I was high on adrenaline and it was either go the distance or die," I answered before he could ask. ""Let's face it, the only way we could fly over all this is if you—" I stopped. If he had wings… I smacked myself. DUH! Why didn't I think of that earlier!

I gingerly touched the Angel Charm we'd found and forgotten about through the material of my tunic. My fingers traced the chain up around my neck, and then I pulled it over my head. I meant to immediately give it to the Prince, but I suddenly had second thoughts. What if whoever lost this really needed it? What if it didn't work on the prince? What if it did work, but couldn't be undone? What if this was blasphemy? Help me out a little!

I looked back and forth between the charm in my hand and the Prince, who was watching my every move curiously. I wasn't sure it was worth the risk, but if it got us through the tower faster, maybe it was…

"Well… I guess… it couldn't hurt…" I was still reluctant, but I came closer to the Prince and tossed the chain around his neck. He just looked at me, unsure of my motives. "There's a pair of wings still in this thing. I'm letting you barrow them. _Barrow._ For now." His eyes widened a little.

"You mean…?"

"Yes," I answered, lightly clutching the charm. It glowed softly for a moment and I noticed the Prince tense his back until it stopped glowing. Then I let go and stood back. "Whoa… I can't believe that actually worked!" I exclaimed. Surprised, the prince looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a set of feathery wings protruding from his shoulder blades. To tell you the truth, he actually looked kinda sexy with wings. The only thing that irked me about it was—

"Why are they black?" he questioned, still examining his new limbs. "I expected them to be white. Like yours."

"…They must've belonged to a Renegade," I answered bitterly, my mind now swimming down memory lane, recalling a slew of unpleasant images from the past. "Wing color changes depending of occupation and rank."

"Oh… I see." He was trying to be serious, but I could tell that he was just tickled pink to have wings. I wouldn't have been surprised if he came over any second and bear hugged me til I couldn't breathe. But being a Prince, he had to stay dignified about it.

"Well," I started, interrupted his happy time with the wings, "now I've just gotta teach you how to use them."

* * *

Kiri: Well, because of popular demand, the Prince gets to barrow the lost wings. Is everyone happy now?

Prince: I GET WINGS! (happy dance)

Naomi: O.o; There's something you don't see everyday.

Mike: Eh, it's pretty amusing, if you ask me.

Naomi: ...GAH, STAY AWAY!

Mike: Would you relax for like, five seconds?

Naomi: Not with you around!

Mike: (rolls eyes)

Kiri: ok, enough fighting you two. Who wants to do da FAQ today?

Naomi: I WILL DO IT THIS TIME!

Kiri: But-

Naomi: YOU SHUT UP AND GIVE ME THAT MIC!

Kiri: ...

Q: The prince gets wings?! COOOOL!

A: Yes, Princy boy gets wings. Though I know that whoever owns them probably won't like it.

Q: But why are they black?

A: Well... remember who has black wings... heheh...

Q: WHERE'S THE DARK PRINCE! WE WANT THE DARK PRINCE DAMMIT!

A: ...ok, people... this is getting REALLY old REALLY fast.

Q: WELL WHERE IS HE!

A: Goddammit.

Mike: You know, the next person who asks that will get their head ripped of. It's old. Seriously OLD. Drop it already.

Q: ...

Mike: That's better.

A: Well, at least you're useful for SOMETHING.

Mike: And that's supposed to be a compliment?

A: shut up.

Q: Why is the Prince always to mean to Naomi?

A: Because he's having male pms.

Prince: I AM NOT!!!

A: heheh...

Q: Well then, why?

Prince: BECAUSE With all this going on and my death right around the corner, Naomi's teasing is not exactly something I'm ready to deal with lightly!

Q: But she's just teasing...

Prince: I know she means well. But there's a time to joke and a time to be serious and by whatever force in the universe, she always managed to pick the wrong times to joke!

A: I do not! You're just too sensitive!

Prince: I'm NOT sensitive.

A: Really...

Prince: REALLY!

A: suuuure...

Q: So... why's everything going so fast?

A: Because the authoress is lazy and wants to annoy people.

Kiri: NOT TRUE!

A: Bet it is.

Kiri: It's not! To give a straight answer to that question, it because I don't have much happening in this part of the story. But it'll heat up soon, I promise. And it'll all be bad news. (snicker)

Naomi: ...

Kiri: Well, that's all for today. I LOVE all you guys and your reveiws! They really make me laugh! And if you haven't noticed, I sometimes use the sugestions in there... my gift to you. ;) So until the next chappy! Ciao!


	13. My Business and Mine Alone

Chapter 13

Lucky for us, the Prince was a fast learner. I tried my best to explain to him the basics of flying and I wasn't sure if he really understood at first, but once I got him in the air, he picked it up quickly. By now, he was keeping up with me, but like I was when I first got my wings, he got fatigued very fast and constantly had to stop and rest.

But I was right about one thing. We got through the tower MUCH faster this way. And we were able to get away from Dahaka much quicker, too. All and all, I'd say the Prince was warming up rather well to his new wings. So well that I was almost sad when I thought about having to take them back. After all, they did belong to someone else, even if it was a Renegade…

At one point, I decided to let the Prince solve one of the puzzles on his own for a change. My brain was still throbbing from the last one, so a quick break couldn't hurt. Besides… there was something in my shirt poking me in the boob and I needed to find and destroy it for bugging the crap outta me! This had to be done away from the Prince, of course. All bra digging had to be done away from the prying, peeping eyes of men.

After a good few minutes of trying to see and grab whatever the super-annoying object was at the same time, I snatched it and pulled it out.

"Now I have you! You—letter?" I blinked as I looked over the thick parchment. …I remember this! That letter I got from the council! I totally forgot about it! Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to read it.

_**To Miss Angelina Samira, **_

_**We, the members of the Council of Angels, take great pleasure in—**_

"Naomi!"

_**-take great pleasure in informing you that—**_

"Naomi! I need your assistance!" Grrr…

_**-in informing you that you will not—**_

"NAOMI!"

"I'M COMING, I'M COMING! KEEP YOUR FREAKING PANTS ON!" Thoroughly annoyed, I stuffed the letter back in my tunic, resolving to read it after I helped Princy-boy do whatever he couldn't do by himself.

It turns out he needed help pulling a double switch to get a door open. From there, we continued on, so I didn't have time to read my letter. And every chance I got, I glared at my companion when his back was turned.

So anyway, we pretty much finished the Tower and did the whole handshake thing again when we saw all of our hard work crack us out an open throne room door in return. So now, we could officially say that we had completed an 'impossible' task, and needless to say, we were pretty damn proud of ourselves, and neither of us hid it as we made our way back to the central hall to met the Empress.

But if only I'd known what all this was going to lead up to, I would've about-faced and marched right out of there.

"So… Naomi…" the Prince began, sounding as if he were trying to decide the best way of wording his next sentence.

"Yes, Prince?" I encouraged him on.

"I was… I was wondering…"

"Yeeeeeees?"

"When all of this is over…"

"Keeeeep gooooing…."

"When all this is over, what are you going to do?" I didn't have to look to know what he was getting at. But he did bring up a valid point. What _was_ I going to do? Probably go back up to the Heavens…

"I… don't really know."

"I know last time I asked you, you said you had obligations to the Academy… whatever that is. But didn't you say that you were finished with that, now?"

"Yeah… I am…"

"Then what will you do after we face the Empress?"

"Well, provided that we don't die," I began, then paused for thought, "…I don't really know."

"Don't you have any family?" I stopped walking. Family? I hadn't though about my family for years… And now that the Prince brought it up, I couldn't help but wonder about my mom. How had she fared with me gone all this time? Was she all right? Did she think about me often? Would she recognize me now? All these questions suddenly made me realize how much I missed her… Her and Uncle Chad, whom I used to see a lot when I was little. Would either of them know me if they saw me now? Would I ever even be able to see them again?

But then… there was my dad and brother, whom I hadn't seen or heard from since I was little. But like hell I was EVER going anywhere near THAT duo. They'd probably kidnap me for ransom, then torture and hang me.

"Naomi…? Naomi, are you all right?" the prince's voice grabbed me out of my thoughts and brought me back to reality. He had a hold of my shoulders and was staring at me like you would stare at anyone who just snapped out of a daydream. I stared at him a moment, knowing that he was going to ask what that had been all about, but I beat him to the punch.

"No," I said simply, "No family." I pulled out of him grip, slid around him and started walking again. Oh, that was so smooth… now he'll suspect something for sure and knowing him, he'll push the issue. But much to my surprise, he didn't.

"Ok… then… are you going back to your homeland?" he asked, jogging to catch up to me.

"…No."

"Why not?"

"It's too far."

"If it's so far, how did you end up in India when I first met you?"

"You're really persistent, aren't you?" I said, now getting annoyed.

"Well… it's just that you've never told me anything about your homeland… or your family. And now that I'm bringing it up, you act as though—" I quickly rounded on him.

"Prince, I just told you, I'm not going back! I have nothing or no one to go back to! So would you drop it already?!" this time he kept his mouth shut. Satisfied with the quite, I continued on. But low and behold, he didn't stay silent for long.

"If that's the case… then come with me to Babylon." This made me halt my steps again. One thing was certain about him. Even though he was a complete jerk these days, deep down, he was still as sweet as the young naïve prince I knew in Azad. And to tell you the truth, I found the thought of going with him to his home more appealing that returning to the Heavens, or to my own home.

"Prince," I began, pausing momentarily, "There is nothing I would rather do than go back with you." I folded my arms behind my head and leaned back a little. "And this time I can say that with no strings attached." I saw a spark of hope in his eyes.

"So, you will?"

"Didn't I just say that?" He must've forgot all about dignity and honor and all that crap, because something in him snapped and he grabbed me around the waist and hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe, laughing as he did. "Prince, please," I said, my voice muffled from his strong grip, "you're squishing me…" He then realized how tight his grip really was and dropped me back on my feet.

"Oh… sorry," he apologized, still grinning widely. I took a deep breath and smiled.

"Forget about it. Sheesh, if I had known you were gonna get all happy-jump-around-like-a-child about it, I'd have told you a lot sooner." But even though I'd agreed to go with him, something told me that the 'family' thing wasn't gone for good. Well, if it came up again, I'd just keep knocking it back until it's finally forgotten. Seriously, that's my business and mine alone.

* * *

Kiri: ok, this one was more of a pointless filler chapter that anything else. and it was kinda hard to write... the only part I really had fun with was when she's trying to read the letter but Princy won't let her. That's was funny.

Naomi: Not funny! Annoying! (glares at Prince)

Prince: well... er... sorry?

Kiri: Well, I know you all are curious as to the letter... but you'll just have to wait and find out, cuz I'm a bitch like that! Mwuhahaha!

Naomi: You're a bitch for making my life miserable!

Kiri: heheh. Well, no FAQ today, I've got some other crap to do. So make sure y'all leave a nice review! Reviews always encourage me to get off my butt and write some more! So until next chappy! Ciao!


	14. The Start of Something Else

Chapter 14

I couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that something really bad was waiting for us as we entered the central hall. I stayed as close as I could to the Prince as we slowly made our way forward towards the hourglass chamber. And the closer we got, the stronger the feeling became. Finally, I stopped.

Prince, wait," I said. He halted and turned back to look at me.

"What is it?"

"Did you get the feeling of impending doom just now?"

"No, why?"

"I did." I lightly hugged myself to prevent myself from shivering. "I'm having second thoughts… maybe we shouldn't do this." The Prince just looked at me incredulously and approached me, stopping only inches away.

"We didn't just go through hell to activate those towers just to quit, did we?" he demanded, sounding angry.

"No… but—"

"Naomi, you know how I have lived the past seven years. And you know that I have searched desperately for an answer, for a way to change my fate. And now I've finally found it. And now you stand here and tell me to just drop everything and leave?"

"No, but—"

"But what?!"

"I just…" I swallowed hard, avoiding his eyes. "Something bad is gonna happen… I can just feel it…"

"Naomi, I'm not going to let anything harm you," he promised, sounding like he'd told me this a million times already.

"It's not me I'm worried about." He opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by a loud roar… and then the Dahaka appeared.

"The Dahaka!" the Prince exclaimed, his eyes going wide in panic, "It has learned to find me in the past!"

"SEE! I TOLD YOU SOMETHING BAD WAS GONNA HAPPEN!" I shrieked, and immediately opened my wings and darted to the other side of the room. The Prince tried to follow me, but guess who showed up to stand in his way? Yep, the Wraith. The Prince growled in irritation, knowing that he was in big trouble.

"I don't have time for this!" he shouted.

"Prince, get out of there!" I screamed at him, "You've got wings, use them!" But I don't think he heard me. In a desperate attempt to get away, the Prince made a mad dash towards the Wraith, intending to dash right by him, just as the Dahaka sent out several tendrils toward him. But the Wraith wasn't stupid. He leapt back as well.

There was a single horrible moment when both the Prince and the Wraith were neck and neck, the tendrils seemingly wrapping around both of them. I momentarily lost my ability to speak and just stood there, watching helplessly as the scene before me unfolded. Time seemed to stop. All sound seemed to mute. My heart skipped several beats and leapt into my throat. It was all still… but at the same time, it was all happening so fast…

I heard a loud yell as the Dahaka caught one of them in its tendrils. It let out a loud roar of triumph and leapt down into the ravine. Did I dare to even look? If I did, who would I see standing there? My Prince? Or the Wraith? Did I even want to know?

No, I didn't think I did. But either way, my body betrayed me and I slowly cracked open an eyelid. My sight was a little blurry at first, from squeezing my eyes shut so tightly, but it slowly came back into focus and I opened my eyes a little more.

I was actually surprised when I saw the dark form of the Sand Wraith standing there, staring back at me, his bright eyes piercing through me. But he only continued to stare for a second until he turned and started fighting to get the mask off. I watched, not sure what to think as the mask came off, the Wraith's skin was shed and there stood my Prince, er, I mean _the_ Prince. And he had the distinct look on his face of a deer in the headlights.

"I can explain!" I said quickly, probably expecting me to freak out and start hammering him with questions. But I didn't say anything. I just walked up to him, looked him straight in the eye, then started walking around him, examining him from head to foot. He watched me a moment. "…What are you looking for?" he asked, confused.

"An off-switch," I replied.

"Uh… why?" I stood back up and looked at him again.

"Because you really need to stop freaking me out like this! I really don't want to end of dead of a heart attack here!" I sighed. "Maybe if I turned you off for a while, I could rest!"

"Well… I can explain. I hope."

"There's really only a couple things I want to know," I stated, carefully taking the mask from his hands and looking it over. "For instance, why am I not with you?" I watched the Prince's reaction very carefully. I know I saw just a smidgen of pain there, and a shoot load of regret.

"I…" he hesitated.

"What?"

"I killed Kaileena. You tried to tell me not to, that it would do me no good at all… but I didn't listen, I was so sure…" he started to explain.

"Because Kaileena _is_ the Sands. And by killing her, you became the creator of your own fate," I finished for him. He looked at my, eye wide, surprised.

"Yes, that's exactly—how did you know?!"

"I know lots of things, Prince. I didn't spend seven years at the Academy for my health, you know." He just gave me a small smile.

"Yes. I suppose so." But his expression quickly changed back to solemn. "After Kaileena died, and I realized my mistake… I almost resigned myself to my death. You tried to console me… and I offered myself to the Dahaka. I would've let him kill me, but you… you pinned me down and screamed some sense into me. You said that if I just gave up and let him kill me, you would never forgive me for it. That I would be leaving you almost completely alone." he looked at me puzzlingly. "Is that true?" I bit my lip.

"Well… I guess in a way… yeah, it is true." I still had Gabby, after all.

"Well," he continued, "that's when we found the mural about the Mask of the Wraith," he gestured to the mask, which was still in my hands, "And we went looking for it, but…" he stopped. I heard his breathing start to accelerate.

"But what?" I urged him on. By now it was way obvious that something had happened to me in that time. He swallowed hard, looked in my eyes and embraced me tightly.

"The Dahaka… it chased us into a dead end," he whispered in my ear, his voice shaking slightly. "I found a place to hide from it, but there was only enough room for one of us. You shoved me in and sealed it off. I couldn't see what happened… but I could hear it. I tried to get back through to help you, but I couldn't. And by the time I made me way around…"

"I was dead?" I suggested, trying to keep my voice soft.

"No. You weren't dead yet. But that beast had beaten you so badly… there was no chance you would have healed." He took a deep breath. "All you said to me was 'I knew you'd come back for me…' then… then…" he sounded like he was having a hard time with the next part.

"Then what happened?" I urged him on, still trying to keep my voice calm. He let out a long, shaky breath.

"Then… you asked me to kill you." Now I could easily see why he was so upset. It's never easy loosing someone you care about, but having to actually be the one to kill them? That's almost a completely different story! Sure, I was standing right here and he was hugging the life outta me, but I could tell that that experience would be burned into his memory for a long, long, long time.

"I refused at first," the Prince continued on, "but you were in so much pain… and you were so broken… by then, letting you die would have been far kinder than letting you live… I had to… I _had_ to." He held on to me for a long time after he said that. I thought for sure he would start crying any second, but he didn't. Men… But he eventually did let go and step back. "When I found the mask, I swore I would change everything. I promised myself that I wouldn't kill Kaileena this time, and that I wouldn't let the Dahaka catch you. And no matter what happens, I'm going to live up to those promises, whatever the cost."

"So then, what are we waiting for, a bus? Let's get going, already!" I pointed towards the hourglass chamber and made ready to leave, but the Prince didn't budge.

"Wait," he said simply, then pulled out a familiar looking necklace. "I still had this… I think you should have it back. I have no more need for it." He dropped an exact copy of the Angel Charm in my hand, and low and behold, it was storing two exact replicas of the lost wings. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about that any more.

"Ok… thanks. Are we done here?" He didn't answer that one, but rather, just gazed endlessly into my eyes.

"…I really missed you, Naomi," he said quietly.

"Huh?" I replied stupidly. He took my hand.

"After your death, the farther I went, the more I realized how much you really lightened things for me. And the more I came to realize that…" he trailed off and dropped his gaze, as though the next thing he were going to say had to be worded just right… or he'd be sorry.

"What?" I urged him once again. Wow, he's really being hesitant today. I guess you can't really blame him, though. The poor guy just went through hell in a hat bag and had suffered physical, mental and emotional damage from it.

"…I…" he bit his lip. I gestured with my hand for him to keep going.

"Yoooouuuu….." Then, seemingly having made up his mind, he stepped towards me, put one hand on my hip, the other on my cheek and in one swift move…

He kissed me.

* * *

Naomi: I QUIT! THERE'S NO WAY I'M DOING THIS! NOT A SNOWBALLS CHANCE IN HELL! 

Kiri: TOO BAD!

Prince: ...I'm not even going to say anything.

Naomi: ...YOU LIKED IT, DIDN'T YOU!

Prince: uh... well... (sweats)

Naomi: (leers)

Prince: No! No, of course not! heheh...

Kiri: Well, that's just too bad for both of you! Because I'm writing this, I'm a hopeless romantic, and I shall have my sappy love story!

Mike: following in Rhea's footsteps, are we?

Kiri: Damn right!

Naomi: Well, you'll just have to find someone else because the prince and I are quitting!

Prince: Hold on, I never said-

Naomi: (glaring)

Prince: (shrinks back)

Kiri: I shall have my romancy stuff and you will deal with it.

Naomi: Make me!

Kiri: Fine with me. But first, a word to all my lovely readers, you guys are all awesome! The reviews are hilarious! No FAQ today, since I have a shoot load of homework piled up, so sorry 'bout that. and I hope I pleased all my fellow hopeless romantics out there! But do keep in mind that Angels romancing with humans is against the laaaaw... heheh... And the plot thickens! Well, that's all for today... now I have a renegade cast member to deal with... so until next chappy! Ciao!


	15. Back to the Future! Er, Present

Chapter 15

Who knows how long we stayed like that. I think the Prince and I were having completely different reactions to the kiss. I for one, was frozen on the spot, my eyes so wide I wouldn't have been surprised if they fell out of their sockets. Every logical part of my brain was screaming at me as loud as it possibly could, "NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD! ABORT, ABORT, ABORT!" But my body wasn't budging.

Back when I was just a regular teenaged schoolgirl living with my mom, I would sit on my bed and play the games and fantasize about being the Prince's love interest. Hell, what self-respecting fan girl wouldn't? But back then, I didn't have any ties preventing me from loving him. Now, as an Angel, I had laws preventing me from showing him any kind of love other than friendship. If I let him do this, I would definitely be sorry. It was one of the Divine Laws that could not, under any circumstances, be broken, that said Angels cannot love non-angels.

But the thing was, I wasn't the one who was in love. I wasn't the one who was kissing him. It was the Prince who had fallen for me, and he was the one doing the kissing. But like it mattered… it was still a kiss. It was still a physical show of deep affection. Oh, I'd be hearing from the Council for this, I just knew I would. And they weren't gonna be happy, either. Well… maybe, just maybe, if I explained to them that I didn't have feelings for him, that he was the one who had feelings for me, I'd be off the hook. Yes, I'll do that. I'll just tell that that it wasn't my intention and with some luck, they'd understand.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the prince's lips left mine and he pulled me into another hug.

"I am glad to have you back," he whispered, sounding relieved. Ok, so maybe it wasn't love after all? Maybe it was just relief... Please, oh please let it just be something simple that still qualified as friendship.

Careful not to send him the wrong message, I pulled out of his grasp, ignored his questioning gaze and turned my back to him. My poor brain was still trying to catch up. I lightly touched my lips as if making sure they were still there. We were silent a long time before I could finally make sense of the whole situation.

"…No," I said suddenly, breaking the silence. I heard the Prince shift firm behind me.

"No?" he repeated, confused.

"No. This isn't going to work."

"I don't think I understand." Honestly, I don't think I did either. I shook my head and rounded on him.

"Look, Prince, can't we do this later? Like… when you're _not_ in mortal peril? Like, _after_ we've dealt with the Empress?" He just blinked, but then seemed to agree.

"I suppose you're right. There will be plenty of time after we've met with Kaileena," he agreed. If he hadn't been looking right at me, I would've sunk to the ground in relief. At least now I would have to time to think about this whole thing and come up with a way to let him down… without breaking his heart into little pieces. That was going to be a little hard, especially since this was the first romantic situation I'd ever dealt with.

Kaileena was waiting for us in the Hourglass Chamber. Nothing was said as the Prince and I climbed the stairs and stood next to her in front of the open doors. There was a long silence before the Prince spoke up.

"Time's almost out," he said to Kaileena. "You ready?" the woman in red didn't answer. She only started walking into the throne room to prepare her trap. The Prince and I followed.

Once in the Throne Room, I took a moment to stop and admire the upholstery and sheer size of the room. The prince, however, kept walking forward, determination all over his face. I just watched and couldn't stop myself from smiling as he examined the swords on either side of the throne, picked them up and tossed them aside.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Kaileena!" he exclaimed. Kaileena seemed surprised at first, but then narrowed her eyes and glared at me. I stepped back and put my hands up.

"Don't look at me! I didn't do anything!" I cried, hoping that she won't sand-blast my head off.

"You told him, didn't you!" she demanded, pointing an accusing finger at me. "You told him!"

"I didn't tell him anything! He figured it out all by himself!" I exclaimed in my defense. By this time, the Prince had smashed in the back of the throne, revealing a portal room. Seeing this, I quickly made a mad dash towards the room and followed the Prince inside.

"You cannot run from your fate!" Kaileena yelled after us. I wasn't sure if she was talking to the Prince, or me but considering that the Prince was the one with fate issues, I assumed it was him. She came running in after us, her swords in hand. She quickly lunged at the Prince, but he blocked her attack, then he sent her back into the portal and with one last look of surprise, she disappeared into the future. Or Present. Whatever.

The Prince and I smiled at each other in victory and quickly followed.

I thought heavily about what I was going to say to the Prince when the subject of love came up again, if it came up again. I had a rough idea of what I was going to say… but I didn't know for certain. Hell, I didn't even know if he did love me! I guess I'd just have to say something like "Sorry, Prince, but it just wouldn't work… I mean you're human… I'm not… besides, I prefer our relationship as just plain ol' friends." Or something. Maybe, if I was careful, I could avoid the real truth all together! As a Prince, and heir of the throne of Persia, he would need a wife who knew what the hell she was doing when it came to ruling a country, and he would need a wife who wasn't… well… sterile.

Yes, I finally said it. Now you know my deep, dark secret. As an Angel, I'm pretty much infertile. And I say 'pretty much' because it can still happen, though it was about a trillion to one odds. And considering our crap luck so far, we'd go through our whole lives without even a miscarriage.

Besides, there was no way in shanaynay that I was going to let myself fall in love with Princy. No way. I couldn't... Not ony was it against the law, but I would be getting a confirmation for my... arrangement soon... Besides, I was not going to break the laws and become an outlaw. I'd never be able to live with myself if I did. I'd end up like the Prince, only I'd be running from the Hunter Angels, rather than Dahaka.

Anyways, back to our current situation. It didn't take us long to reach the stage where the final battle would've taken place. If memory serves, it was either a battle against Kaileena, or against the Dahaka, depending of whether or not the Prince had the Water Sword. I'd forgotten which swords were which, so I guess I'd just have to find out for myself who we'd be fighting.

But as the two of us jumped out onto the large platform, not only did I see Kaileena there, but also two others. One was a tall, broad man, dark haired man—no, not a man. An Angel. A Renegade. His wings were black. Strike one…

The second was a much smaller, much younger man, also dark haired. He was standing a little farther away from the group, his arms folded, looking grumpy. He didn't have wings, but there was something eerily familiar about him… Strike two.

The older Angel seemed to be talking about something with Kaileena, and she seemed like she was both interested and skeptical at the same time about whatever the subject was.

The younger one must've heard us when we landed because he looked up, spotted us, and scowled.

"So THERE you are!" he shouted at us, not bothering to hide his aggravation. The older angel and Kaileena stopped their conversation and looked over at him as he stormed over to us. Or rather, over to me. He got a few feet away from me, and then held out his hand demandingly. "I'll be taking my charm back, if you don't mind!" I stared at him, my eyes wide for just a moment, before something clicked in my head. No wonder he seemed familiar! It'd been so long since we last met… he was older now, but I could still recognize him.

"…Mike?"

* * *

Kiri: EVIL CLIFFHANGER! OMG!

Naomi: CLIFFHANGER NOTHING! WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!

Kiri: Mwuhahaha!

Mike: Why do you think I'm here? You have my wings, damn it!

Kiri: ok, enough of that, children. Anyways. Since I love you guys so much, I took the time to pump out another chapter for you. Aren't I nice? Again, no FAQ now, since I REALLY need to get my homework done. And on another note, we're approaching the last chapter, peoples! But fear not, we still have part three to go. So until next chapter, Ciao!


	16. Spherical

Chapter 16

Indeed, it was my old enemy Renegade. When I had first become an Angel, and was just learning how to fly, he'd come down and attempted (rather forcefully) to convert me to a Renegade. He never succeeded, but he came close.

It was strange seeing him again after all this time. I wasn't really sure whether to run and duck behind the Prince, or give him back the charm and ask him just what the hell he was doing here. He had definitely matured since I last saw him. His facial features seemed much more solemn and hardened that before, especially in his eyes, which seemed a shade darker now. He was still fond of tight black leather, apparently, and still sporting the same wild, untamed hairstyle. He was still skinny and a bit lanky, though he did look much thinner than I remembered him being. There were also shallow dark circles around his eyes…

"Angel!" he barked again, causing me to take a tiny step backwards, "My charm!" As if by reflex, I touched the charm that was hanging around my neck, then I pulled it over my head.

"This…? This is yours?" I asked stupidly. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is irritate someone whose already very annoyed by asking stupid questions. He scowled and snatched it from me.

"Yes, it's mine! I've been searching everywhere for it, only to discover that _you_ of all people had found it!" He quickly threw it around his neck after examining it carefully for any sign of damage, and stuffed it in his shirt.

"Uh… sorry?" I offered, trying not to get any farther on his bad side. He only 'hmphed' in response.

"Michael, don't be so short," the older Angel suddenly spoke up. He and Kaileena had come over to see what all the fuss was about. "If anything, you should be thanking her for finding it and keeping it safe for you." Mike only groaned menacingly and walked off, stopping a little ways from the group. The older Renegade only sighed, and then approached me. "My apologies for his behavior, he has been under a good deal of stress lately and has been short tempered with everyone."

I wasn't really sure how to respond. For one thing, I wasn't even supposed to be in the same room with a Renegade, let alone speaking to one! What the hell was I supposed to do if one of them tried to convert me? I doubt the Prince would be much help in such a situation, and there was probably no way I could match both Mike and whoever this old guy was. But… he seemed nice enough… from first impression, that is.

He was a tall, rather broad man, dressed in semi-formal attire (his outfit being a bit more with the times) and in a way, reminded me of the Prince's father. His hair was average length and a deep reddish brown, same as his eyes, which were kind and welcoming. His full lips were curled into a 'first-meeting' grin and framed by a scruffy, 5 o' clock shadow beard.

"Uh…" I had no clue what to say to this guy, but then again, I wasn't so sure I wanted to. When he saw the confusion and reluctance on my face, I smirked and laughed softly.

"If it's recruitin' you're worried about, don't. We have no intention of turnin' you outlaw," he assured me. I'm not sure why but I felt as if I could trust him. I was about to reply, when Mike opened his mouth again and added, rather sarcastically, "at least, not anymore we don't…" The older Angel just cast him a sardonic glare and returned his attention to me.

"No doubt you already know my son, Michelangelo," he said, his voice very matter-of-factly. "I must apologize for his attitude, he has been on edge ever since he arrived on this Island." He then straightened himself up and his smile returned. "But I'm forgetting my manners. I am Aslan Hammond, leader and dictator of the Renegades." WHOA, WHOA WHOA! Back up here! Leader?! Did he just say _leader_?! As in, ultimate authority and overlord?! Holy freaking crap! Do you have any idea how the council would praise me if I killed this guy on the spot? They would build me a gold throne and hail me until I died, and even then, I'd probably end up being worshipped as a hero or something! But like that would happen. He would probably have me pinned in like, two seconds.

"So… uh… why are you here?" I questioned, figuring I may as well make the best of the situation. I mean, if the guy just wanted to be friendly this time around… what harm could it do? "You have business with Kaileena?"

"Indeed I do," Aslan replied, putting his hands on his hips. "Just repayin' an old debt."

"Debt…?" I glanced quickly at Kaileena. Aslan turned back to her.

"Now as I was sayin', we finally found a way to send you home, and I intend to do just that," he said. Kaileena folded her arms, looking skeptical and hopeful at the same time.

"And just how do you plan on doing that, Aslan?" she retorted bitterly.

"Well, it took some diggin', but I finally figured out why you got stuck here, in this world," he explained. "Turns out it's you're human body that keeps you here. Human's aren't very spiritual beings, so when you made that body, you got stuck in it." She raised an eyebrow and so did I.

"And how am I supposed to fix that?" Kaileena asked firmly.

"With this," Aslan said simply and retrieved a small transparent sphere from one of his pockets.

"Where… did you get that?" she asked, just as in awe and the rest of us.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Michael found it," Aslan explained, "He said it looked important, so he brought it back to me. We still aren't sure exactly what it is, but I do know this: you have to give up your title of Empress in order to escape from your body. That is what this is for." Kaileena only continued to stare at the sphere until looking back up and smiling slightly.

"And here I thought you wouldn't be able to repay me at all. How is it that I always manage to underestimate you?" Aslan just shrugged.

"Can we just get this over with so we can go home already?!" Mike suddenly demanded from his position of isolation from the group. His attitude these days was really giving a whole new meaning to 'grouchy.' Aslan gave his son a quick glance, then shook his head.

"And here I thought you were grumpy," I said to the Prince, who nudged me in the ribs in return.

"He's right, we should hurry and return home. You don't mind the rush?"

"No, of course not," Kaileena replied. Aslan placed the sphere into her awaiting hands, and she turned to us.

"...I suppose you were right, after all, Naomi."

"I told you," I replied. "We all get happy endings after all."

"You all should stand back and cover your eyes," she told us. I just stood there a moment, gaping like a fish, unsure how to react to all this, when the Prince lightly gripped my forearm and pulled me off to the side. He didn't say anything, but instead just wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled us into a small huddle. We both shut our eyes and waited.

I heard some footsteps and some weird, indescribable noises. It seemed like the Prince and I were in the same position forever. I mean, it had probably only been a few minutes, but my legs were falling asleep and my back was starting to cramp up. I squirmed around a little, trying to find a more comfortable stance, but the Prince's grip around me was too tight to permit much movement. So… I waited. And I cramped. And I grit my teeth together, hoping my muscles would hold on just a little longer…

"You two can look now," Aslan finally called to us, satisfaction in his voice. I let out a huge sigh of relief as the prince released me (somewhat reluctantly, the perv) and I could stand up again.

When the Prince and I looked again, Kaileena was still standing there, looking herself over very carefully, though something about her did seem… a little different. Aslan smiled and put the sphere, now ablaze with a bright, golden light, back in his pocket.

"And that's that," he stated, "you're free to go now, Empress. I'll just keep this sphere back for whoever your successor is." Kaileena seemed speechless. She kept looking at her hands, then at Aslan and back to her hands.

"I don't believe it…" she murmured. "Aslan… you do not know what you have done for me." The Renegade leader only scoffed.

"Think nothing of it. I was only repaying you for… well, you know." He folded his arms. "…Well? Get going, there's worlds out there waiting for you!" She snapped out of her disbelief at his words, then looked at me and the Prince.

"Well…" she began reluctantly, "I suppose… you two were right." I couldn't stop the wide grin that was spreading across my face. I couldn't help myself.

"Yknow, sometimes 'I told you so' just doesn't quite say it," I said, shaking my head slightly.

"I'm not sure what just happened," the prince added, "But congratulations, Kaileena."

"Then I suppose this is goodbye," she said, almost sadly. "But Naomi…never forget who you are. Trust yourself." With those cryptic words said, and a few more quick goodbyes, Kaileena was engulfed in a whirlwind of sands… and was gone.

There was a long moment of silence as the four of us stood, reflecting on what had just happened. The Prince and I had finally, _finally_ completed what we came here to do. He was finally free of his fate, and I was free to go back to Babylon with him. I just hope there's good food there.

"So… can we go now?" Mike interrupted disdainfully. Aslan let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, Michael, we can go now." The older angel turned to the Prince and I. "It was a pleasure meeting the two of you. Good luck on your journey home." He flashed us a quick smile and opened his wins. Mike quickly retrieved his charm and let his wings out (which I admit, looked a bit better on the Prince, or at least I think so) and the two flew off. Now it was just the Prince and myself.

"Well…" I started, breaking the silence, "I guess that's it, then." I looked back at my bewildered partner, who shrugged.

"I… suppose it is." More quiet. "We should find a way off this rock."

"Yeah… but first, let's pay a quick visit to the library."

* * *

Kiri: Holy crap, this chapter is awful! Sorry guys, I was in a hurry to finish this one cuz I wanted to work a little more on my new story. it's about a headless Horseman! And I command all my loyal minion- er, readers, to go and read it! well, no FAQ today, cuz I don't really feel much up to it. (I'm not in a very 'funny' mood today...) so I'll just leave you with a quick note. Also, the dress sphere is from Final Fantasy X-2, if you didn't know. Good game, a bit frustraiting and kinda boring in some places. it was one of the worlds Kaileena visited while looking for her home and she brought back that little relic with her. And... that's about it, I guess. so, I'll see you guys later! Ciao!


	17. Final Chapter

Final Chapter

With the Prince's fate changed, Kaileena gone, and the Dahaka no longer the driving force behind us, we had every reason to stop and goof off all we wanted on the way to Kaileena's library. I don't know how many times we pushed each other into the sand portal we used to get back to the past, and who knows how many times I would jump onto the Prince's shoulders and demanded playfully that he carry me. We talked about a hundred different things, each one just as ridiculous and pointless as the next, including food, shoes, pastries, the art of taking a bath and so on. We laughed, giggled and teased each other, we made jokes, wrestled, and acted like we were twelve again.

For a while, I actually had my best friend back. How awesome is that? But even so, I still had a problem on my hands. He hadn't mentioned anything yet, and I was hoping to the stars that he wouldn't bring it up. A friendship gone bad romance was the last thing I needed, especially with the Prince.

Over the years, he had become like a big brother to me. We were best friends forever, partners in crime, til death do we part. And that's how I wanted it to stay. I didn't want him loving me romantically; I didn't want him trying to become my lover. I preferred him to be the overprotective one standing between my lover and I, with a sword at his throat, threatening to chop him into little pieces if he so much as made me flinch.

Besides… if I was going to have anyone as a lover, it was going to be another angel. Not only was it the law, but some of those guys I'd gone to classes with were pretty cute… Don't get me wrong; there was nothing wrong with the Prince. At all. Maybe he was a bit… ruthless and unforgiving, but he was my closest buddy. He was strong, able, kind (when he wanted to be), and downright _sexy_, but he was the last person I wanted to get involved with romantically.

When we finally reached the library, I couldn't help but grin. Books… lots and lots of books… all sitting there, just waiting for me to pick them up and…

"Calm down, Naomi…" the Prince said from beside me. This only made me grin more. "They aren't going anywhere…" I felt his hands on my shoulders. No doubt he remembered the Hall of Learning seven years ago. I hadn't really changed much on that front. I still went absolutely nuts in libraries.

"Books…" I said quietly, almost jittery with excitement. "Oh my freaking god SHE HAS A LOT OF BOOKS!"

"Easy… there's no rush…" Just to please him, I decided it would be best to keep myself under control at some level or another. So instead of just darting off and flying all over the room from shelf to shelf, reading a couple lines from each book I pulled off, I stepped forward, looked between the shelves and calmly walked over to one to eagerly examine my options.

Kaileena had a ton of really neat stuff in her collection. Things like demon encyclopedias, books on the history of countless races from other worlds, travel guides, philosophical essays, sketches of strange looking creatures, epic tales of legendary heroes, primers on languages I've never even hear of and more.

"There's so much here," I heard the Prince comment from behind me. I turned. He was examining a shelf on the opposite wall. "What this… 'Sherlock Homes'?" he read off. I grinned, shut the book I was holding and stuffed it back on the shelf.

"Are you serious? That's here?" I said, and looked over his shoulder. "Kaileena has a copy of 'Sherlock Holmes' in her library. Holy freaking crap."

"What in the world is a Sherlock Holmes?" the Prince asked, giving me a funny look.

"He's a man, a detective, to be precise. A fictional character in a series of books. He was my childhood hero," I explained, taking the book out and scanning the cover. I used to own the entire collection, until they fell apart because I had read them so much. I finally had to toss them out. But one year for Christmas, my mother got me the complete series all compiled together in one huge hard cover gold leaf book. Oh, I was a happy girl that year. I spent the whole night reading that thing. I even stayed up past my bedtime to read it. Mom didn't even come in to yell at me to go to bed, either."

"Your mother sounds like a kind woman," the Prince pointed out. I sighed.

"She was… She always spoiled me when I was little… after she left—" I stopped. Damn it, girl, you almost let slip that little bit of info you swore you'd never ever tell him about! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"After she left what?" the Prince pressed. I shook my head.

"Never mind," I said quickly, "I said too much."

"Naomi-"

"Drop it!" There was a tense silence for a moment, but I pretended to not care and tried to focus on the book in my hands.

"… She left your father, didn't she?" GAH! This guy was persistent! He just can't take a hint, can he?!

"Let it go, Prince," I said darkly.

"Naomi… you've been trying to say it for a long time. Just let it out and be done with it," he said carefully, lightly putting his hand on my shoulder.

"...He wasn't my father. He was just some lowlife who took us in when we had no place to go," I clarified. "All he ever did was eat, sleep, sit around and get drunk, then wait for mom to get home so he could scream and yell at her, then beat her until she could no longer put up a fight, then he'd take the rest out on me! As far as I'm concerned he can go rot in hell for all he's done!" By the end, I was all but screaming. But the Prince didn't back off, or even flinch. He just stood there as I finished and turned my attention back to my book, which there was no way in hell I could concentrate on after that little outburst.

"…I'm sorry, Naomi," he said after a while, his voice soft and sympathetic. "But maybe when we return to Babylon, we can change that." I only made a 'hmph'-ing noise, although after yelling like that, I somehow felt a little better. "My father is there, waiting for me to return… he'll just love you. I know he will."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for you. Knowing him, he'll do everything in his power to thank you for it."

"But just because he's grateful doesn't mean he'll love me."

"He will. They'll all love you." I rolled my eyes, but the way he said the words was too conspicuous.

"I am definitely keeping this," I said, trying to ignore the tone of his voice and tucking the Sherlock Holmes book under my arm. "What else does she have in here..."  
He obviously knew that I was deliberately trying to ignore him. I could tell by the look he was giving me. Lucky for me, though, he didn't push it, and busied himself with looking over more book shelves.

"I think I finally have an understanding of your enthusiasm for books," he told me after a while. "There's so much here... I almost wish we could take them all with us."

"Welcome to my world, Princy!" I replied cheerfully. "I wish we could do that... but whatever we don't take we'll have to destroy."

"Destroy?" he exclaimed, looking back at me. "What ever for?" I turned to him, hands on my hips.

"Think about it. With Kaileena gone, if we just left all these here, then anyone who happens to stumble across this island can just walk in and read them! I don't know about you, but this is way too much information for the world to know, especially if they fell into the wrong hands." After listening to all that, he nodded.

"I see. Good idea." Then his expression turned sly. "Although, that's a bit more than I expected to hear from you, of all people."

"...Hey! That's not very nice!"

"I am only stating a fact."

"No you aren't! You're being mean!" He only chuckled and returned his attention to the shelf. "Meanie..." I mumbled. Another few moments passed in silence as I looked over the books and took the ones I wanted to keep. I could only assume the Prince was doing the same. Soon, I came away with a sizable stack, put them on a small table on the far wall and joined my partner. He didn't have nearly as many as I did, but what he did have actually surprised me.

"Since when are you interested in Angel mythology?" I asked, somehow feeling flattered.

"I would like to know more about you and your people," he replied, throwing me a sidelong smirk.

"And what suddenly peaked your interest in us, if I may ask?" He looked at me with that charming 'Prince' smile of his.

"...I just thought it might come in handy."

"In handy for what?" No answer. "Fine. Be secretive. But I'm finished here. Can we go now?" He pulled a final, dusty looking old book from it's place on the shelf and turned to me.

"Yes, I'm finished as well. But now the question stands: how do we go about destroying this library?" I pursed my lips and looked around.

"Um... we could burn it... but how do we start a fire?" The Prince looked around for a moment until his eyes came to rest on an old, tore up looking table I hadn't noticed before.

"There," he pointed. "That wood looks flammable. Now all we need is some way to get a spark..."

"Why not just do it the old fashioned way and rub the wood together?" He looked at my incredulously.

"Do you know how long that will take?"

"Well, it's not like we're starved for time, you know..." The Prince gave me a look, but I could tell he realized I was right. Now that there was nothing pressing at hand, time was one thing we had plenty of. Finally, he sighed and turned towards the old table.

"Very well. Help me pull it apart."

"Aye aye, captain!"

It took us a good while, but after a lot of splinters and arm aching, our efforts paid off and the old dried up wood ignited and lit up rather quickly. We didn't stay long enough to see much more, though, since as soon as we had our books back in hand, the Prince yanked me out of the burning room and shut the doors tightly. Even then, he insisted that the hall we were in still wasn't safe, and he began pulling me off in the direction of the nearest portal room. Since the portal was already active, he just pulled me right in behind him, returning us both to the present.

Unfortunately, when the whirlwind set us back down, fate chose that particular moment to tell my feet to trip over themselves and in a moment of epic clumsiness, I dropped everything I was holding, grabbed hold of the Prince to try and right myself, only to end up pulling him down with me. And guess how we landed? With him, _right on top of me._ Whoever was watching me from the sky right now must've been laughing pretty hard at me...

I quickly tried to push him off to get back on my feet, but he also tried to get up at the same time and both our efforts failed, landing us in an even messier pile on the floor. We tried again, and this idioticness went on for about two minutes with both of us trying and horribly failing to pick ourselves up.

"...This isn't working," the Prince said eventually, his voice both amused and exasperated.

"No, it isn't," I agreed, both equally irritated and embarrassed at the situation. "How about you get up first and then I'll get up?" He silently hauled himself up onto his feet, successfully this time, and then pulled me up... only to slip and stumble backwards into the wall, pulling me along with him. Then the worst possible scenario that could've happened played out. I fell into him at just a perfect angle that my lips pressed firmly against his in an accidental kiss.

I had no idea if it was shock that made me freeze, or embarrassment, but I couldn't right myself. My face went hot and lord knows how silly we must've looked. His arms had locked around my waist in order to catch me from falling down again, and he was just barely holding himself up and keeping his balance using the wall as support. The second I was able to, I pushed myself away and dropped my head. I didn't want him to see me while my face was beet red. Why oh why did I have to be such a klutz around him?!

"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding a little strained.

"Uh... sure..." I squeaked. My lips tingled. The Prince, in all his manly glory, managed to right us somewhat, but his death grip on my waist never loosened. Biting my lip, I looked up to tell him that he could let go of me, but I was cut short when I saw how close we were... Too close... Much too close. Oh, not good. The tension between us only grew when our eyes met; a tension I did not want between us. I had to say something. Anything. Ruin the moment. Dispel the tension. Come on, Naomi, do something! ...Why can't I move?

The longer this went on, the more anxious I became because his lips were looking more and more appealing, and the fact that the memory of what had just happened a moment ago kept replying in my mind wasn't helping. This was not fair. This was borderline cruel. There's a smoking hot _babe_ of a man holding me, staring right into my eyes with that oh-so-obvious 'I want to kiss you' look, and I have to say no! Who's stupid idea was it to make that rule? I want my money back!

"...uh..." I tried to say something just to make sure my voice was still there, which it was. But unfortunately, my tongue wasn't working properly in my mouth. I had to get my head together... I had to say something. Now. "...Prince," I tried to say, but it barely qualified as a whisper, "...I..." I never got to finish. His lips crashed down on mine, violently shoving all cognitive thought from my mind, including all the reasons why I couldn't do when he was pushing me into. My body completely betrayed me and eagerly responded to his kiss with a passion that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. It was wrong. This was so bad... But it felt _so_ good...

The Prince pushed us both up, all the while keeping us firmly connected, and pulled me tightly against him. My arms went around his neck, one hand tangling itself in his hair. At this point, there was only one thing I wanted. I wanted to be his. I wanted him to be mine. I needed him to be mine...

Lucky for me, he broke away and started kissing my neck, which gave my mind time to regroup. The intense animalistic passion I had just been engulfed in slowly faded, melting away into a fuzzy fog and my reason returned.

"...I shoudn't have done that..." I moaned, trying to collect myself again. Obviously not expecting this type of response, the Prince stopped what he was doing and looked back at me, one of his hands moving to my neck.

"...Why not?" he inquired, sounding just as breathless as I was. Crap. Now what was I supposed to say? Ugh, if only I could think straight... "Naomi, what's wrong?"

"This whole thing is wrong. I can't..." He started caressing me, which only made trying to get my point across even more difficult. My entire body felt warm with need. Come on, Naomi, fight it! "I can't do this with you." As soon as I said that, I could practically feel the wall spring up between us. He let go of me and stepped back, which left me feeling oddly cold... and somehow, disappointed. "It wouldn't work between us anyway," I added quickly, trying to soften the blow. His expression became unreadable.

"Is that some kind of Angel rule?" he asked emotionlessly.

"Well," I squirmed around uncomfortably. How could I tell him without getting in trouble? "It's just that... I have to... keep myself pure. Kinda."

"Pure? As in chastity?" he asked, trying to understand.

"Yes, something like that." The wall between us fell back down and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"If that is what you're so worried about," he stepped closer again and grasped my hand. ...And that bad feeling I had earlier came rushing back. "Then marry me."

My voice dried up like an old well and all I could do for a moment was stand there and stare at him. Marry him?! I know we were best friends and all, but when the hell did _this_ happen? When had our relationship progressed this far? This had to have been a gradual thing. It couldn't have just happened in the two minutes we'd spent making out. I hadn't even done that on purpose! But when, and for the life of me, I could not figure it out, when did his feelings toward me change to love?

"You don't have to answer right now," the Prince told me, carefully brushing some hair out of my face, "you can think it over on the way home." His voice snapped me out of my mental bubble and back to the present world.

"...No," I said at long last when I got my voice back. The Prince cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"No?"

"No," I repeated, "are you crazy?! No!" That came out harsher than I wanted it to. I stepped back to put some distance between us. The farther I was right now, the better.

"I... I don't understand." The hurt in his voice was as clear as day. Now I had to tell him... and he was not going to like this.

"Prince, I can't marry you!" I exclaimed. "I... I'm an Angel! you're a human! We're too different from each other for this to possible work."

"Are you saying you don't love me back?" his voice was dead, as was his expression. Oh, great going, Naomi. Way to make things worse.

"No, I'm-"

"Then why are you saying no?" I sighed. I had to tell him.

Prince, I can't marry you. I'm already engaged!" My words echoed through the room. Everything got quiet and the tension in the air was so thick I almost couldn't breathe. The Prince stared at me in disbelief, hardly able to register what I'd told him. But it was sinking in, and it hurt. He stared at me for the longest time, his eyes clouded with so many emotions it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"...Who is he?" he asked softly after a long, eerie silence. I swallowed hard. I really didn't want to tell him this...

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" his voice was sharper now. Looks like I was spilling the beans after all.

"I've never met him."

"You would have a stranger instead of me?"

"Prince, it isn't like that!"

"Then what is it like, Naomi?"

"It's an arranged marriage. I never had a say in it! Besides, it's not just me. All of us have to do it." He was quiet again.I took this an a chance to explain a little more. "Something's been effecting our ability to have children lately. No one knows what it is, but it's becoming a real problem... For us, it's not a matter of love. It's a matter of keeping the race alive." He let out a heavy sigh and an expression of sad understanding passed his eyes.

"Well... people marry for a lot of reasons, I suppose."

"I'm really, really sorry... It's just not my decision." He didn't say anything. "You're by best friend, Prince. My brother. The only one I know I can put every bit of my trust in without a worry in the world. I really don't want to hurt you..." He was silent still. As a closing statement, I stood up and my tiptoes, leaned forward and placed a small kiss on his lips. Hopefully that would lighten his load a little bit. To my surprise, he grabbed my shoulders and held me so he could look my right in the eye.

"I swear on every fiber of my being, Naomi, if this man you're marrying ever so much as touches you wrong, I will kill him. You make sure to tell him that when you meet him, because you deserve better than this." Ok, maybe he was overreacting a little, but I couldn't help but feel flattered by it.

"I'll be sure to relay the message." He released me.

"Good. Now... it's time to get off of this rock." The two of us picked up the books we'd dropped earlier and headed out again. We walked to the beach in silence, but the whole way there, the memories of our fierce, passionate kissing stayed in my mind. My skin still tingled slightly where he'd touched and kissed me. I don't know where in the world all those feelings of passion and need had come from, but deep down, I could still sense them.

Something told me that the trip to Babylon was going to be much longer than I wanted it to be.

**The End…?**

* * *

Kiri: NO WAY, JOSE! yes, my lovely readers, there is a part three, and it's coming real soon, so don't let go of your underwear! **  
**

Naomi: ...Princy isn't wearing underwear.

Everyone: ...

Prince:(blushing furiously) I AM TOO!

Naomi: Sure, you are.

Prince: I AM! I SWEAR!

Kiri: OKAAAAY! that's enough of that! That you so much for those disturbing images, Naomi!

Naomi: No sweat. ;)

Kiri: (sweatdrop) well, no FAQ. sorry, guys. Too much to do. So much to write. but definately keep an eye out for Warrior's Angel 3! Until then, Ciao!


End file.
